Anambra Building Collapse: Mother, 14-Year-Old Daughter Crushed to Death

A woman and her 14-year-old daughter have died after a three-storey building under construction collapsed at Anata Anaba, Okpoko, in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The incident occurred at about 9:45 pm on Wednesday, trapping the mother and her daughter inside their apartment in a neighbouring bungalow.

Eyewitnesses said the building made a loud noise as cracks appeared in its walls before the structure suddenly collapsed, throwing residents into panic.

Some other victims trapped in the rubble were reportedly rescued by emergency responders and rushed to hospital for medical attention.

An eyewitness said the mother and daughter had been inside their apartment when the building came crashing down on the neighbouring property.

Scene of building collapse. Photo: Ikenna Obianeri

“The woman and her daughter were in their apartment in a nearby bungalow when the three-storey building collapsed and trapped them. Before the building caved in, it made a loud noise as the walls started cracking before falling one after the other,” the eyewitness said.

Residents alleged that they had repeatedly raised concerns about the construction, citing the waterlogged nature of the land and questioning its suitability for a three-storey structure.

Advertisement

According to them, the engineer who initially handled the project had advised the builder to limit the building to two floors because of the ground conditions. However, the recommendation was allegedly ignored, and another engineer was later engaged to continue the project to three storeys.

The collapse claimed the lives of the landlady of the neighbouring bungalow and her youngest child.

The woman’s son, identified as Chimobi, said three members of the family were inside the apartment when the building collapsed.

“I was outside at the time of the incident. But my mother and my sister were in the bedroom when the building collapsed directly on them, leaving them with no opportunity to escape,” he said.

Chimobi lamented that the family and other residents had earlier warned the builder about the potential danger posed by the structure and called for the construction to be stopped, but their concerns were allegedly ignored.

Confirming the incident on Thursday, the Anambra State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Chijioke Ojukwu, described the tragedy as unfortunate.

Advertisement

Ojukwu visited the scene alongside Noble Igwe, the member representing Ogbaru One Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly.

The commissioner blamed the collapse on the use of substandard building materials and poor construction practices, adding that the authorities had previously issued a stop-work notice on the project.

“The structure was an illegal building, and we had ordered its demolition. The land is going to be forfeited to the state government. We are investigating other unapproved buildings under construction in the area,” Ojukwu said.

He added that the building collapsed under the weight of negligence and poor-quality construction, killing the woman and her daughter in the neighbouring bungalow.

The incident has renewed concerns over building safety, regulatory enforcement and compliance with construction standards in Nigeria.

In a related incident in September, one person was killed while two others were rescued after a two-storey building undergoing manual demolition collapsed in the Aboru area of Lagos State.

Advertisement

The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the incident occurred at No. 42, Governors Road, Aboru, in Alimosho Local Government Area.

According to him, the agency immediately deployed its Alpha Eagle Response Team to the scene after receiving a distress call.