Concrete railing crushes woman to death in Ogun

Mrs. Modupe Bankole, a 51-year-old woman, at the weekend lost her life in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital following the partial collapse of a building.

The victim, a mother of three, died when the concrete railings of a one-storey building in Olomore area of the city gave way and collapsed on her.

An eyewitness told The Guardian that the incident, which happened on Saturday evening, ignited panic among residents. Already, all the tenants in the building have packed out.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning, Yetunde Dina, who visited the scene yesterday, said the state government would investigate the incident and if need be, completely pull down the building.

Husband of the victim, Mr. Samuel Bankole, who is a teacher at the Army Children School, Lafenwa, Abeokuta, told journalists that he and his deceased’s wife had been living in the building for the past 12 years.

He said: “My wife told me she was going to prepare food. After finishing the preparation, she came to me and took a small mat and a pillow and spread it out to take in the evening breeze. She spread it even very far away from the collapsed decking.

“I was preparing my own note of lesson at the time, telling her I would join her on the mat when I finish writing, which I did immediately I finished. My last child came back from his place of apprenticeship and even slept beside my mother. He later left to see a friend.

“Shortly after, I heard the sound of the decking collapsing over my head. I believed that since my wife was not directly under the decking, she was safe. I ran outside and started shouting ‘thank you Jesus.’”

The teacher said he believed broken blocks from the structure hit his wife, who gave up the ghost shortly after being admitted at the hospital.