Oyingbo Building Collapse: Aderibigbe Salutes First Responders, Seeks United Action on Building Safety

At least one person died and 26 others were rescued after a two-storey building at 54 Cole Street in Oyingbo collapsed on Monday.

Emergency officials said the property had earlier been identified as distressed, even as search-and-rescue operations drew to a close.

In remarks to THISDAY, British-Nigerian lawyer, built-environment expert and advocate for a Nigerian Construction Act, Abiola Aderibigbe, placed emphasis on empathy and public service.

“My heart is with every family in Oyingbo today. I am deeply grateful to the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and to its Director, Mrs. Margaret Abimbola Adeseye, for the courage and professionalism shown by firefighters and medics through the night. When tragedies occur, Nigerians rally, neighbours form human chains, and responders work past exhaustion. That spirit is who we are. We are a nation of action and compassion,” he noted.

Aderibigbe linked the moment to ongoing policy efforts in Lagos, praising Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s earlier call for a more unified and enforceable building framework, while urging conversion of intent to practice.

He said such leadership “deserves to be matched now with rapid, practical steps that prevent collapses before they happen.”

Reflecting reports that officials had raised concerns about the Oyingbo structure, he added: “Yes, officials did a commendable job by providing warnings because warnings matter. But our goal must be to intervene early enough that families in Lagos and across Nigeria are never placed in harm’s way.”

Turning to Abuja, Aderibigbe issued a respectful appeal: “With sincerest and utmost respect to His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this is now critical. Your Excellency, Nigerians need the certainty that the buildings they live and work in will stand. We can deliver that certainty through competence, inspections and consequences, working shoulder-to-shoulder with all states and the Federal Capital Territory.”

He restated a cooperative pathway that brings regulators and procurement authorities into one room for immediate decisions.

He called on the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), and the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) to sit with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to approve time-bound criteria for a pilot Contractor Registration and Grading register, alongside enforceable HSE triggers empowering authorities to clear or secure distressed buildings before occupancy.

He added that Lagos State’s push for stronger, harmonised standards provides a practical base other states can adopt quickly.

“Today is a day for empathy and for gratitude to first responders,” he said. “Tomorrow must be for implementation. Building safety means saving lives and Nigerians have shown again, in Oyingbo, how we stand for one another. Let’s match that spirit with the systems that keep families safe.”