Ikoyi building collapse: New insights expose real cause

Two years after the devastating collapse of a towering 21-storey building on 42 Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, new revelations have emerged shedding light on the reasons behind the catastrophic incident.

The collapse, which occurred on November 1, 2021, at precisely 2:45pm, captured headlines and dominated social media platforms, leaving a trail of destruction. At least 44 people were killed in the incident.

Elias Olawale Agbabiaka, a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers United Kingdom, pins the accident on poor capacity of the builders, bringing other crucial insights during a panel session at the BusinessDay conference on Sustainable Building.

Speaking on the theme “Addressing the Challenges of Building Collapse in Nigeria,” Agbabiaka revealed that COREN’s report on the cause of failure of the Gerrard road building had been out there since the coroner finished his inquest, and adopted it in his ruling.

“The engineers that were employed, although experienced in age, lacked the necessary expertise in high-rise buildings. They depended on software tools but lacked the ability to properly interpret the results,” Agbabiaka stated, highlighting the critical flaws in the building’s design process.

“We interviewed them three times. They didn’t even understand the concept of building, yet they were the designated designers.

“The primary cause of the collapse was the combined stress failure of the columns on the ground floor. Notably, the foundation, though not without issues, wasn’t the root cause. The true problem lay in the inadequate understanding of the building’s design by those responsible for it.”

The Ikoyi building collapse event claimed the lives of 44 individuals, including Femi Osibona, the owner and Managing Director of Fourscore Heights Limited; Wale Bob-Oseni, a Nigerian businessman based in the United States; Oyinye Enekwe, Osibona’s personal assistant; among others.