INSIDE STORY: How single mother lost only child, relative in Lagos building accident

The pillars could no longer hold the weight of the overheard water tanks, and by Sunday, August 20, they crashed through the fence and collapsed on the roof of a nearby one-room apartment where Funmisola Olaoye, a single mother, and her family lived.

Due to the renovation at the two-storey building which was seven feet away from the one-room apartment, tenants had vacated the violet-painted building, leaving it inhabited.

According to a resident of the area, workers at the site had dug around the pillars of the structure carrying the water tanks on Friday and left it infirm with the thought of resuming work on Monday.

But before they could return, the accumulated weight of the three tanks — 500 litres each — uprooted the pillars from their base and landed on Funmisola’s roof, crushing the occupants shortly after their arrival from Great Impact Baptist Church.

The residents who spoke with TheCable said an iron rod detached from the pillars lashed through the neck of Adedeji Ayomide, the only son of Funmisola, instantly killing the 12-year-old.

Ayomide had recently concluded his second year of junior secondary school. If he was still alive, he would resume JSS3 on September 5. But all that remained of him in the ruined room was his mathematics set. Every other belonging was buried in the rubble.

A close friend of Funmisola, who didn’t want her name mentioned, said the accident didn’t spare the aspirational life of Tosin, a 27-year-old graduate, who had moved into the apartment a few days prior.

Since his graduation, Tosin had been in search of a job, and after getting one, he moved in with Funmisola — but he would meet an untimely end at the building situated at No. 26, Adeleke Street, Bariga, Lagos.

When TheCable arrived at the scene, a notice had been posted by the Lagos State Building Control (LASBCA), asking residents to vacate the building owing to the fatal incident that stole the life of two and has reportedly left Funmisola with a damaged spinal cord.

‘BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE’

Neighbours sang Funmisola’s praises and described her as an uncomplicated human, easy-going, and devoted Christian who does not deserve the calamity that has befallen her.

Tunde Hassan, who lives in a room not far from hers, was shaken by the tragedy, lamenting that “bad things always happen to good people”.

He said the incident happened a few minutes after 8pm, adding that when he heard the sound of the crash, he ran outside, and by the time he got to the scene, Ayomide and Tosin were already dead.

“She has been living here for the past five years. She is is a woman of God. If it was during the week, she would not have been around to experience this calamity,” Hassan told TheCable.

“She would have been at her shop, or church and would return home past 10pm. She owns a small provision shop just by the road. That’s all she has. Nobody prayed for this sort of thing to happen to her.”

A worker at the National Orthopedic Hospital, where Funmisola was admitted, said her condition is critical. She said the hospital has not yet revealed the extent of the incident to her in order not to worsen her situation.

“We can’t tell the woman the real fact about the incident yet because her situation is still critical. She is still asking about the children. She also asked how the thing happen, she’s finding it difficult to understand what has happened to her,” the hospital worker said.

‘NO ONE HAS OFFERED HELP’

A relative of Funmisola, Mrs Olaleye, said more than N300,000 has been spent to keep her alive, while the hospital has requested N800,000 for surgery.

“No one has offered help, not even the owner of the structure that collapsed. We have been asked to go conduct an X-ray of her spinal cord, she needs help,” she told TheCable.

“The operation the hospital said they are going to conduct on her will cost N800,000. Other than that, we have spent more than N300,000.”

Analysing the accident, Tope Elehinafe, a structural engineer, said the water tank structure was not properly grounded, adding that the depth of the foundation, which was less than two feet, is not ideal for the weight it carried.

“Something meant to lift three water tanks can’t be that shallow in depth. The structure is also not well grounded for such,” the engineer told TheCable.