A Kwara building collapse at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque in Ilorin, Kwara State, killed four members of the same family on Tuesday morning, September 1, 2026, while four other family members were rescued alive after being trapped beneath the rubble.

The three-storey building collapsed at about 5am, trapping eight members of the family inside the portion identified as the boys’ quarters.

Also read: No deaths as two-storey building collapses in Anambra

Emergency responders quickly arrived at the scene as relatives, residents and security personnel waited anxiously for news of those trapped.

An eyewitness, Abdulganiy Musa, said the father of the family was a serving soldier, while the mother worked as a casual staff member at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies in Ilorin.

One of the children, identified as Firdaus, was rescued alive as emergency workers intensified efforts to reach the remaining victims.

An excavator was subsequently deployed to remove debris and create access for rescuers. Several ambulances were also brought to the scene to transport survivors and recovered bodies to hospital.

The Kwara State Fire Service later confirmed that four people had died and four others had survived.

“We have recovered four people dead and rescued four people alive,” the agency’s Public Relations Officer, Hassan Adekunle, told The PUNCH.

Adekunle said the fire service received a distress call around 5am and immediately mobilised to the location.

“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced rescue operation. This kind of situation is not something the fire service can handle alone,” he said.

The rescue operation involved several agencies, including the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency, National Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Fire Service, Red Cross and health officials.

Representing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, described the incident as unfortunate and expressed condolences to the victims’ relatives.

“The rescue mission began immediately after the collapse and to the Grace of God, some were rescued but unfortunately, we have to take it as this,” Olohungbebe said.

The commissioner highlighted the importance of accessible roads around residential buildings, noting that the access route to the affected property helped emergency responders reach the scene quickly.

“One of the things that made it very easy for us to rescue the few people we were able to rescue is the access route,” he said.

The cause of the collapse has not yet been established.

Adekunle said authorities would conduct a proper assessment before determining what caused the structural failure and whether further action, including demolition, would be required.

The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, confirmed that the collapsed section was the boys’ quarters of the three-storey property.

“It was a three-storey building that collapsed. Our findings showed that the boys’ quarter of the building that collapsed. Information gathered revealed that eight people were trapped in the building,” Adekimi said.

Adekimi said the surviving occupants had been taken to hospital, while the bodies of those who died had also been evacuated.

“For now, the situation is under control. We will examine the remaining building and see how people can be secured. But for now, we have evacuated everybody from the main building,” he said.

The police commissioner urged residents to take structural warning signs, including leakages and visible defects, seriously.

Magaji Saadudeen, Secretary of the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency, also confirmed that eight people had been trapped and said the survivors were receiving medical treatment.

The tragedy has renewed attention on building safety and the importance of enforcing construction standards in residential areas.

AbdulRahman Babatunde Ladan, Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Area, said six to seven ambulances were deployed during the emergency response and praised residents and responding agencies for their swift intervention.

Ladan urged residents to report structural problems before they become emergencies and to leave buildings when signs of possible collapse emerge.

“Whenever you discover something like this, please escalate it. Get to the point of evacuating yourself and your family members from that building. Life is the priority,” he said.

He also urged developers to use quality materials and engage qualified professionals to supervise construction, stressing that compliance with building regulations remained essential to preventing similar tragedies.

Also read: No deaths as two-storey building collapses in Anambra

For the affected family, however, the immediate concern is the devastating loss of four relatives, while the four survivors continue to receive medical attention after a morning that began with an abrupt and terrifying collapse.