In a fortunate turn of events, a three-storey building at Ikpoh Street, Surulere, Lagos, collapsed without any casualties. The incident, which occurred around 10:00 p.m. on Friday at No. 14 Ikpoh Street, saw all its occupants safely evacuate before the structure came crashing down.

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Photo credit: Ayokanmi Oyeyemi

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed the incident on Saturday, stating there were no casualties. Ibrahim Farinloye, the Territorial Coordinator of NEMA, provided this confirmation to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Gervase Anyanwu, a businessman and one of the building's occupants, recounted the harrowing moments leading up to the collapse. He mentioned that before the building's fall, there was a significant noise from one of its wings. "Immediately we heard the sound, all the occupants of the building gathered at the muster point before evacuating for safety," Anyanwu said. He added that the occupants' immediate evacuation was "simply by the grace of God."

However, it was noted by another resident of the street that the building had previously shown significant signs of distress. As of the reporting time, the excavation of the rubble from the collapsed building had not begun, but all relevant government emergency agencies had marked their presence at the site.