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Lagos – One man died and eight people were rescued after a three-storey building with a penthouse collapsed during manual demolition at 28 Baale Alayabiagba Street, Ajegunle at about 11:09 a.m. on 30 October 2025. Emergency teams from LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, LASBCA, LASAMBUS, LNSC, NEMA and the Nigeria Police responded, with the injured taken to Ajeromi General Hospital. The cause is under investigation.

British-Nigerian lawyer and globally respected construction and infrastructure expert, Abiola Aderibigbe, led with sympathy. “My heart is with the family of the deceased and every survivor. To the men and women of LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire & Rescue Service, LASBCA, LASAMBUS, LNSC, NEMA and the Nigeria Police—thank you. Your speed and coordination saved lives.”

He praised neighbours who rushed in. “The courage of bystanders and neighbours who joined the effort reflects the very best of us. God bless every responder and every helping hand who turned fear into action.”
Setting Ajegunle against a troubling run, Aderibigbe noted that in mid-September there was a Yaba collapse; on 16 September the Afriland Towers fire shook Lagos Island; on 25 September separate collapses were reported across Awka in Anambra; on 22 October Aba market Collapse in Abia; and on 27 October an evening collapse struck Oyingbo — now followed by 30 October in Ajegunle.

“Six major reported incidents in roughly six weeks across three states is a distressing pattern. We cannot normalise seeing building and construction collapses this frequently. We cannot be comfortable with it! Nigeria has the talent, the grit and the materials; what we need now is the discipline of a single framework that bites on every site, every time.”

Turning to Abuja, he issued a direct but courteous appeal. “Your Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the utmost respect, sir, this is a moment to unite state and federal action. We are in dire need of a single, modern framework that makes safety enforceable, payments predictable, and governance transparent across the construction chain. Lives depend on it.” He added: “Your Excellency, as you have led a remarkable reform agenda, I am humbly asking that you also add a National Construction Act to it, as it is key to building safety and saving lives.”
Aderibigbe, who continues to champion a Nigerian Construction Act said the reforms he is proposing would: register and grade contractors; make HSE duties statutory; embed anti-corruption safeguards; guarantee payment timelines with statutory adjudication; and mandate skills transfer/local content.

The five co-equal parts to his proposed legislation now commonly known as the “Aderibigbe 5 Pillars” form the core of the proposed act and his advocacy. “Let this not be another headline,” he said. “From Alayabiagba to every ward in Nigeria, building safety must mean saving lives now!” he concluded.
Over the last few months, Independent has reported on Aderibigbe’s vocal push for a coherent national framework to raise standards and protect lives—a campaign in which he has described building safety as “Nigeria’s next freedom.” Aderibigbe’s appeal today sits within that continuing conversation, and the policy debate it is helping to shape.