Guild Raises Alarm Over Impending Collapse Of Lagos School Building

Members of Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), Yaba Cell, have raised the alarm over the impending collapse of a school building owned by the Lagos State government in the Yaba area of the state.

The guild stated this in a letter dated January 30, 2026 with Reference number YB/BCPG0126/007 addressed to the state’s commissioner for Education, Mr Jamiu Tolani Ali-Balogun, signed by the coordinator, BCPG Yaba Cell, Engr Bayo Ogunrinde and the general-secretary, Funmi Olaitan, which was obtained by LEADERSHIP Sunday.

The letter read in part, “We would like to draw your attention to a dangerous safety compromise within the premises of the Mainland Senior High School, Onayade Street, Fadeyi in the Yaba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.  A distressed three-storey classroom building has become a perpetual threat to the precious lives of pupils and teachers.

“Following the death of about 20 pupils in a five-storey building that collapsed at 63, Massey Street, Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory embarked on non-destructive structural tests of school buildings. On April 4, 2019, this three-storey school building at Fadeyi was marked by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) as distressed. It is worrisome that for over six years, the issue of this distressed school building remains untreated.

“Sir, it is important to remind you that the consequence of indecision could be fatal.

The aforementioned building that collapsed at Ita-Faaji was tested and marked as distressed but the building was given some renovation treatment before its eventual calamitous collapse. The parents of the dead pupils and the injured children are yet to recover, psychologically, from the tragedy caused by the collapsed building. Hence, indecision and delay, in this case, compromised the prevention of premature deaths.”

They added that another visit was recently paid to the Mainland Senior High School by the representatives of BCPG accompanied by LASBCA officials and the king of the   locality, the Onisabe of Igbobi-Sabe, HRM Oba Owolabi Adeyemi Adeniyi, saying a visual inspection of the building was carried out in order to assess its current condition.

The guild affirmed that, “The roof of the building was in disrepair. The soffit of slabs and beams had been subjected to spalling of concrete, leading to the exposure of corroded reinforcement steel bars.

“Obviously, the elements of the building had deteriorated, transformed negatively against standard building conditions and the dictates of the National Building Code of Nigeria. Unfortunately, there was free access into the classrooms of the distressed building without solid restrictions. An ordinary caution tape would not be a barrier to dissuade playful school children. The building, though unoccupied, was dangerously close to other buildings that were being used as classrooms and offices.”