At least 168 people, including police personnel, their wives and children, escaped death at the Police Barracks, Sango, Ibadan, in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, on Saturday, when a block of building containing 27 self-contained apartments partially collapsed.
The fact emerged during an interview with journalists by the Zonal Coordinator, South-West, Saheed Akinyode, yesterday morning. He said he led his men to work at the scene of the building collapse, on Saturday night, and they were able to recover the damaged cars and motorcycles, while some generators were still under the rubble.
He stated that the affected building must be over 100 years old, adding that the force has a department in charge of work, and the department should conduct integrity tests on all the buildings in the police barracks, to ascertain their level of depreciation and whether they are still habitable or not.
Though no casualty was recorded, properties worth millions of naira were destroyed, including two cars, five generators and three motorcycles. The debris of the collapsed structure fell on the trunks of the two affected cars, which are Toyota Avensis and Mistibushi Space Star. The trunk of the Toyota Avensis, where the engine was located, was badly damaged up to the front seat, pressing the roof of the car. The two cars were seen with shattered screens.
When Daily Sun visited the scene of the building collapse yesterday morning, it was gathered that the building went down at about 3pm, on Saturday.
Operatives of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), led by the Zonal Coordinator, South West, Saheed Akinyode, worked in the night to possibly ensure evacuation of anyone who might have been trapped in the rubble. But Akinyode said no one was under the rubble.
The affected building is marked Block 11 and NPF/OYS/193. It is a two-storey building. The toilet, which is also a two-storey structure attached to the main building, collapsed completely, while part of the main building also came down.
One of the policemen who lived in the affected police barracks, said the occupants of the Block 11 which collapsed partially, had been asked long time ago to vacate the building, following results of an integrity test conducted on the building, adding: “But the occupants refused to leave because they are low-rank policemen and they may not have money to rent apartments in the town.”
Policemen have been deployed to the scene. They politely prevented journalists who went to the scene early yesterday morning from taking pictures and doing video recordings. They said it was an order from the above that journalists should not be allowed to capture the scene of the building collapse, until permission was obtained.
The policemen at the scene, however, directed all the journalists on ground to the nearby Sango Divisional Police Headquarters. On getting there, the journalists were told to get permission from the Commissioner of Police in the state, Williams Adebowale, or the Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, Adewale Osifeso.
Information, however, came that the police boss in the state would pay an assessment visit to the scene. So, the journalists waited for him. The CP arrived at the scene in the company of some senior police officers, including the PPRO, Osifeso, who could not earlier be reached on his mobile phone.
Adebowale, who did not grant any interview, said the Force Headquarters was handling the situation. The PPRO in the state also said the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejejobi, would speak on the development.
Regardless, officials of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on ground said the preliminary assessment of the building that collapsed partially showed that the police personnel inhabiting the building must be evacuated. The whole block of buildings should be demolished and rebuilt. They added that proper auditing of the blocks of buildings in the barracks should be done and appropriate actions should be taken to prevent disaster in the nearest future.
Some residents of the Sango Police Barracks, however, narrated how the three-storey building collapsed on Saturday. One of the residents said: “It was around 3pm on Saturday. Many of us were inside and the children were playing outside. We started hearing some sound in the building, some particles began to fall and the building eventually collapsed. No casualty was recorded at all. Nobody died and nobody was injured. But two cars, three motorcycles and five generators were affected.
“The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the division of this barracks and the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) team were also here last night to take some pictures and make inquiries on the incident. After observing the incident, NEMA promised to bring us relief materials such as mattresses, mosquito nets and others; they said we should find a place we can manage for now. It is risky for us to stay here. But we have nowhere to go.”
Another resident also said: “You journalists, please don’t put this issue on our Commissioner of Police in the state. He has been doing well. He is not in charge of all these buildings. He is in federal operations. We have a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Works. He reports directly to our amiable Inspector General of Police.
“Though no life was lost, this incident should serve as a wake-up call to the officers in charge of work to do the needful. They should do accurate integrity tests of all the buildings in all police barracks, in order to prevent monumental disaster.”
