13-year-old girl dies as building collapses in Ekiti

It was gathered that the building collapse also left four other residents of the house injured, and now receiving medical attention in hospitals.

Speaking on the incident, one of the children of the landlord, Lanre Olagunju said the building collapsed around 2am, adding that one casualty was recorded.

Olagunju spoke during the visit of the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who was represented by the deputy governor, Monisade Afuye, to the scene.

He said, “The building didn’t give prior notice or sign before the sudden collapse”.

The governor, who grieved over the teenage girl’s death, described the incident as devastating and agonising as he called on occupants of dilapidated buildings across the state to relocate to save their lives.

His words: “This is one incident that really saddened my heart. How could we lose a precious human life to such an avoidable circumstance? The building must have been giving some signs for long.

“If you check very well, the adjoining buildings are not even safe. The government agents will visit here soon to assess those houses and probably pull them down.

“I sympathise with the family and admirers of the victims. This is indeed a trying time for all of us, but we must learn one or two lessons from this and take actions that would safeguard our lives by being careful with the choice of buildings we will live in.”

Oyebanji, who also visited Adeyinka Adebayo General Hospital, Iyin Ekiti, where some of the victims were receiving medicare, said that the government would foot the victims’ medical bills.

The governor also disclosed that he had directed the Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, to oversee the victims’ medical treatments and ensure that they were given the best to fast track their full recovery.