By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An early morning rainfall on Monday sank a storey building in the Maryland area of Lagos, with nine occupants rescued by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
In a statement, the organisation said the occupants of the building were rescued after receiving a distress call from the area.
According to NEMA, the owner of the property, a male, when he sensed danger, quickly moved out of the building with the help of a ladder.
“The landlord of the building had used a ladder to escape but NEMA questioned him for failure to contact emergency responders instead of one of the trapped victim’s office contacting the agency,” the Lagos Territorial Coordinator of NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, stated.
“The landlord just returned to the scene and he has been handed over to the Police for leaving the vulnerable ladies. About 35 buildings on Akinwumi Estate, 31 buildings on Arowojobe Estate, and Ebun Otti Estate are seriously impacted,” he added.
Mr Farinloye confirmed that “All nine trapped ladies” in the storey building located at 47 Akinwunmi Street, Akinwunmi North, Estate Mende, Maryland, Ikeja “have been successfully rescued.”
On Monday, Lagos witnessed torrential rainfall which lasted for about four hours, leaving most parts of the metropolis flooded.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya