Lagos Accounts For Highest Number Of Building Collapses In Nigeria As Deaths Hit 1,616 – Report

Lagos State accounts for the highest number of building collapse incidents in Nigeria.

According to a report released by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPRG), there are a total of 653 reported incidents of building collapse across Nigeria between October 1974 and 25 May 2025. These incidents led to 1,616 deaths.

Lagos, having the highest number of cases, constitutes about 55.28 per cent of the total.

This is followed by Abuja with 4.29 per cent, Anambra State with 4.13 per cent and Oyo State with 3.37 per cent. Kano State is the fifth with 3.22 per cent.

According to the Guild, states like Taraba, Bayelsa, Gombe, and Yobe recorded their first building collapse incidents in the last three years.

It revealed that no building collapses were reported in 1971, 1975, or 1981, but things got worse in recent times.

It said that the first recorded building collapse in Nigeria took place in October 1974 in Oyo State. According to reports, excessive loading caused the multi-storey building to collapse, tragically killing 27 people.

While 45 building collapses occurred in 2020, the year 2022 witnessed the highest number of collapses ever recorded, with 62 incidents nationwide.

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While Lagos accounted for 40% of the total building collapses in 2020, it amounted to 32 per cent of the 2022 total incidents.

In 2023, there was a total of 52 collapses recorded nationwide, with Lagos again leading with 17 cases, representing 33 per cent of the total.

“In 2024, there were 47 building collapses reported across 14 states. Lagos again topped the chart with 13 incidents, followed by Abuja with six, Anambra with five, and both Kano and Rivers recording four each. Jigawa and Plateau had three incidents each, while Osun and Delta reported two each. Niger, Abia, Edo, Oyo, and Ebonyi states each recorded one collapse,” the Guild stated.

The Guild revealed that 13 building collapses have already been recorded nationwide in 2025. While Lagos still leads with seven recorded incidents, Ekiti has 2 cases. Rivers, Ogun, Anambra, and Yobe states have each recorded one.

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Fifty two people were killed on 1 November 2021, when what was considered the tallest building collapse in Nigerian history occurred in Lagos.

A member of the BCPG, Amuwo Cell, Lagos State, Dr Victor Oyenuga, expressed concerns about the rising cases of building collapses in Nigeria in the past few years.

Dr Oyenuga lamented about the loss of lives and properties in the collapse of buildings all over the country.

He said, “Many lives and properties have been lost in the collapse of buildings all over the country, and mostly in cities such as Lagos, Benin, Port Harcourt, Abuja, etc. Many property owners have developed high blood pressure, and some have been sent to their early graves over these incidents.”