Victims of the collapsed building along Adeniji Adele Road at Isale Eko on the Lagos Island were served a quit notice, but ignored it, a source in the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency has told PUNCH Metro.

Several people have been hospitalised after a building collapsed in the early hours of Thursday, drawing an emergency response from operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, the Nigeria Police, and other relevant rescue agencies.

The official who craved anonymity said the building was in distress and had been marked for demolition by the Lagos State Building Control Agency before it collapsed.

“The building is distressed and defused. It was marked by LABSCA long ago, before it collapsed, but LASEMA moved in early this morning.”

“Our findings also revealed that the tenants were served a notice to quit, but they refused to leave,” the source disclosed.

Another source in the agency, however, noted that no one was remaining in the rubble while an excavation was ongoing due to the closeness of the building.

“You know how Lagos Island houses are. That is why it is difficult to use our equipment, and we have resorted to manual excavation until we can move them in. But for now, there is no one trapped in the rubble.”

According to updates posted by LASTMA on its verified X handle, victims trapped under the rubble were rescued and immediately taken to nearby hospitals for medical attention.

“There is a report of an overnight collapsed building along Adeniji Adele Road, at Isale Eko. LASTMA personnel, other emergency responders and men of the Nigeria Police Force are all on the ground. Traffic flow is currently not affected along the corridor as our personnel are firmly at the location for traffic monitoring. Victims rescued from the building have been taken to the hospital for treatment,” LASTMA said.

Though the exact number of casualties has not been confirmed, officials remain at the scene as search and rescue efforts continue.

To ease movement around the affected area, LASTMA said traffic was being redirected.

“Our officials have diverted traffic from Zenith back through Oba’s Palace to make use of Enu Owa to their various destinations,” the agency added.