From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
The early morning call to prayer had barely faded over Popo Giwa in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday when a deafening crash shattered the quiet, turning a family home that had stood for more than seven decades into a scene of death, panic and mourning.
Shortly after 5am, residents around No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque, were jolted awake as a section of the two-storey residential building suddenly collapsed, trapping members of a family beneath tons of concrete, blocks and other debris.
Within minutes, neighbours, emergency responders, security personnel and community members converged on the scene. What began as a frantic search for survivors soon became a painful rescue operation, with excavators and ambulances deployed as rescuers battled to reach those trapped inside.
The collapse exposed not only the fragility of an ageing structure but also the devastating human cost of a building that had been home to generations of a family.
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Among those caught in the tragedy was the family of a Nigerian Army Staff Sergeant, Bolakale Kudus, who had reportedly just returned from his duty station in Akure, Ondo State, on medical leave.
His wife and four children were killed in the collapse.
The soldier himself survived after being rescued from the rubble, but the loss left the family struggling to comprehend how a home that had sheltered them for decades could become a graveyard in the space of a few seconds.
For his elder brother, Mallam Kudus Olanrewaju, who also survived the collapse, the morning began like any other.
He said he was contemplating going to the toilet to perform ablution when he heard a terrifying sound.
“I was contemplating going to the toilet to perform ablution. Thank God I had not moved close to the toilet before I heard a loud sound, gbaa,” he recalled.
“Everybody woke up immediately, but I could not see anything because dust had covered everywhere. I did not know what to do because I did not know what had happened.”
It was only after the dust began to settle that the survivors realised the extent of the disaster.
According to Olanrewaju, the collapsed portion was the boys’ quarters attached to the main building, where his younger brother and members of his family were trapped.
He explained that his brother was in the bathroom preparing for ablution when the structure collapsed.
“He was the first person to be rescued alive,” he said.
But the relief that accompanied his rescue was soon overtaken by grief as the family began receiving reports from the hospital.
“I have lost my children. I lost their mother and four of them. Only my brother, who is a staff sergeant in the Nigerian Army, is alive. I have lost five of them. The remaining three are responding to treatment in the hospital,” Olanrewaju said.
The family’s account also highlighted the confusion that followed the disaster, as official casualty figures initially differed from the number later reported by relatives.
The Kwara State Fire Service said four people were rescued alive while four others were recovered dead from the rubble.
Its Public Relations Officer, Hassan Adekunle, said the agency received the distress call at about 5am and immediately mobilised personnel to the scene. “We have recovered four people dead and rescued four people alive,” he said.
The Secretary of the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency, Magaji Saadudeen, also confirmed that eight people had been trapped and said those rescued were taken to hospital for treatment.
However, Olanrewaju later said five members of the family had died. His account was supported by Prof. Abubakr Ali-Agan, a University of Ilorin lecturer and Islamic scholar, who led the Janazah prayer for five victims before their burial at the Oko-Olowo Muslim Cemetery.
The difference in the figures reflected the confusion and trauma surrounding the immediate aftermath of the collapse, as relatives waited for information about loved ones while rescue workers continued searching the debris.
For the family, however, the number was no longer simply a statistic. It represented a mother and four children whose lives had ended beneath the ruins of the place they called home.
The tragedy was made even more poignant by the age of the building.
Olanrewaju said the structure had stood for more than 70 years and had housed members of the family for decades. About 17 people were said to have been living in the building before the incident.
The home, which had witnessed births, celebrations, family gatherings and years of ordinary life, was reduced within moments to a pile of rubble.
As the rescue operation continued, emergency agencies worked alongside residents and security personnel to evacuate victims and secure the area.
Personnel of the Kwara State Fire Service, SEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Red Cross and health officials participated in the operation.
An excavator was eventually brought in to remove the heavier debris, while ambulances moved survivors to medical facilities.
At the scene, however, concern quickly shifted from the collapsed section to the safety of the portion of the building that remained standing.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, said the collapsed section was the boys’ quarters of the building and disclosed that the remaining occupants had been evacuated.
“For now, the situation is under control. We will examine the remaining building and see how people can be secured. But for now, we have evacuated everybody from the main building,” Ojo said.
The police commissioner also warned residents against ignoring signs of structural deterioration, particularly leakages and other defects that could compromise the integrity of buildings.
His warning came as a reminder that the signs of structural failure are sometimes visible long before a building finally gives way.
For AbdulRahman Ladan, Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Area, the tragedy should compel residents to make difficult decisions when their homes become unsafe. Between six and seven ambulances were deployed during the rescue operation, he said, while urging residents to prioritise human lives over attachment to property.
“Whenever you discover something like this, please escalate it. Get to the point of evacuating yourself and your family members from that building. Life is the priority,” Ladan said.
He also urged developers to use quality construction materials and engage qualified professionals to supervise building projects, stressing the importance of compliance with construction regulations.
Representing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr Lawal Olohungbebe, described the incident as unfortunate and commiserated with the bereaved family.
Olohungbebe also drew attention to an often-overlooked aspect of disaster management: access.
“One of the things that made it very easy for us to rescue the few people we were able to rescue is the access route,” he said.
His comment raised a broader question about the design and development of residential neighbourhoods in Ilorin and other Nigerian cities, particularly areas where narrow streets and poorly planned developments can make it difficult for emergency vehicles and rescue equipment to reach victims quickly.
For a disaster that unfolded before dawn, every minute mattered.
The relative accessibility of Popo Giwa enabled rescue personnel to mobilise quickly, but the incident also demonstrated how much more difficult rescue operations could become in densely built communities without adequate access routes.
At the Oko-Olowo Muslim Cemetery, relatives, friends, sympathisers and community members gathered to bid farewell to the five victims.
Prof. Abubakr Imam Ali-Agan, who led the funeral prayer, urged the bereaved family to remain steadfast and accept the will of Allah.
“Death is inevitable, and believers must accept whatever Allah has decreed for them,” he said.
But beyond prayers for the dead, the scholar called for stronger preventive measures from government and greater public awareness of building safety.
The tragedy, he suggested, should not end with the burial. It should become a catalyst for action to prevent similar incidents.
For Olanrewaju and the surviving members of the family, the immediate challenge is more personal.
Five loved ones are gone. The family home is no more. Survivors remain in hospital, and the relatives of the deceased in Abeokuta, Ogun State, were yet to be formally informed of the loss at the time of his account.
The survivor appealed to the Kwara State Government, individuals and other well-meaning Nigerians to assist the family, particularly with the medical expenses of those still receiving treatment.
The Popo Giwa collapse therefore goes beyond one family’s tragedy. It has reopened questions about the safety of ageing buildings across Ilorin, where old residential structures continue to accommodate families despite years of exposure to weather, alterations, renovations and changing structural demands.
The central question now confronting authorities and residents is simple but urgent: how many other families are living in buildings that may already be showing warning signs?
Cracks, leakages, sagging ceilings, unusual vibrations and other structural changes are often dismissed as minor defects until disaster strikes.
The tragedy at Popo Giwa shows the consequences of such neglect can be irreversible.
For government agencies, the incident provides another reason to intensify inspections of ageing buildings, enforce building regulations and ensure that qualified professionals are involved in construction and structural assessments.
For residents, it offers an equally painful lesson: a family home is valuable, but no building is worth a human life.
The rubble at Popo Giwa may eventually be cleared. The excavators will leave, the emergency vehicles will disappear and the street will gradually return to its familiar rhythm.
But for the family that lived at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, Tuesday morning will forever remain the moment a 70-year-old home stopped being a place of shelter and became a place of mourning.
