Moments before and after collapse of popular Lagos restaurant ‘Equal Rights’
A popular eatery in Ojodu area of Lagos State called ‘Equal Rights’ collapsed this morning, Saturday, April 19, 2025.
The restaurant which operated both as a beer palour and an eatery is located on Oremeta Street in Ojodu area of Lagos State.
Equal Rights Restaurant is owned by a businesswoman, a politician and a well known member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by name, Hon. Omotanwa Salau Ogembe.
The Frontier gathered that the collapsed 2-storey uncompleted building which housed the restaurant on the ground floor had been there for many years now without completion.
It was also learnt that the Lagos State government had issued a notice to the property owner last year, warning that the building was defective.
An official of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press said, “Last year, we served a notice to the property owner warning that the building was defective. Instead of obeying the warning, the owner recently attempted to raise another floor to make it a three-storey building, without an approval, that’s the more reason the structure has collapsed today.”
A rescue official with the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) who also spoke to The Frontier anonymously said so far, eight persons who were trapped under the debris have been brought out alive.
But a staff of the restaurant who managed to escape the disaster informed our correspondent that so far nine bodies have been brought out, eight of them dead, one alive. He said the one alive was receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
It was gathered that the building did not come down without a sign. According to another staff member, one of the pillars on the ground floor housing the restaurant had a deep crack some minutes past 8am today.
“Our Supervisor noticed a deep crack on one of the pillars holding the building inside the restaurant, she immediately ordered everyone inside to run outside. Some ran out but some remained because another staff, a boy, had said that people should not panic because nothing was going to happen. But all of a sudden, the whole building collapsed. Those who didn’t run out are the ones trapped,” he said.
The restaurant worker said it would have been worse if the incident had happened much later in the day when the restaurant always has many customers in their hundreds, especially during a holiday like this.
It was reliably gathered that both the land and the collapsed structure belong to a brother to the owner of the restaurant. The brother, we learnt, also owns another 2-storey building on the same Oremeta Street in Ojodu which is used for a Club and drinking joint known as The Empire Spot. Another sibling, it was learnt, owns a bungalow on the same street also operating an eatery called Ayookaade Restaurant and Bar.
Our correspondent witnessed efforts made by the rescuers from different agencies to search for those who were still trapped under the debris as at this afternoon.
Some of the agencies on ground were the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Nigerian Police, Red Cross, Federal Road Safety Commission.
•Photo Caption: Building before the collapse
