Four dead, four rescued after building collapses in Ilorin

Four people have been confirmed dead and four others rescued alive after part of a three-storey building collapsed in the Popo Giwa area of Ilorin, Kwara State.

The collapse occurred at about 5am on Tuesday, September 1, trapping eight people beneath the rubble.

The Kwara State Fire Service and the State Emergency Management Agency both confirmed that four people were recovered dead while four survivors were rescued and taken for medical attention.

Emergency teams converge on Popo Giwa

Emergency responders from the state fire service, SEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, health services and other agencies joined the rescue operation.

An excavator was deployed to help remove debris as responders searched the collapsed section of the building.

Kwara State Fire Service spokesperson Hassan Adekunle said the agency received a distress call at about 5am and mobilised to the scene. Authorities later confirmed four deaths and four rescues.

Police said the remaining occupants were evacuated while authorities considered the safety of the structure.

Cause of collapse not yet established

Authorities have not established what caused the building to collapse.

The fire service said a proper structural assessment would be required before any conclusion could be reached about the cause or whether further action on the remaining structure would be necessary.

There is therefore no verified basis at this stage to attribute the collapse to poor construction, structural negligence, defective materials, age or any other specific failure.

Questions now shift from rescue to accountability

With the rescue operation concluded, attention turns to the condition of the remaining structure, whether warning signs existed before the collapse and what building-control or safety records may show.

Officials also stressed the importance of keeping residential access routes clear so emergency teams can reach disaster sites quickly.

The incident raises a broader public-safety question for authorities: whether buildings showing signs of structural distress are being identified early enough and whether residents know where to report warning signs before a collapse becomes fatal.

One published report gave a death toll of five. However, that report also carried the official SEMA count of four deaths and four rescues.

IDNN is therefore using the four confirmed deaths supported by both the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency and the State Fire Service unless a later authoritative update changes the toll.

What happens next: IDNN will track the structural assessment, the condition of the survivors, any building-control findings and whether authorities identify failures requiring enforcement or corrective action.