According to reports, university students used the structure as a popular residential area in Benin.
Witnesses in Benin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that while several students were hurt, no deaths had yet been reported.
According to one witness, the building had been a single-story structure for some time but had just undergone renovations that included adding two more levels.
“The owner wanted to make more money since houses are now like diamonds in Ekosodin.
“The building’s foundation and structure were not designed to support the added floors, leading to the collapse.
“It’s like building a tower of Babylon,” said the witness.
When a NAN correspondent visited the area, rescue efforts were still underway even though the university administration had not yet released a formal statement regarding the incident.
According to a local student, the structure collapsed during a rainstorm that hit Benin on Friday night and continued until Saturday morning.
“The building gave in when the rain became too much this morning. The rain started yesterday night.
“As you can see, rescue operations are still ongoing. There is a belief that some victims are still trapped inside,” he said.
SP Moses Yamu, the Public Relations Officer of the Edo Police Command, verified the occurrence when he was contacted.
“Rescue operations are still ongoing and until that is concluded, we cannot confirm whether there are death casualties or not.”
“As soon as I have the report, we will let you know,” he finally said at the time of filing this report.
