Building collapse: Experts demand strict enforcement of safety regulations

By Oluseye Ojo

Built-environment experts have called for strict enforcement of building regulations, compulsory stage-by-stage inspections, and tougher sanctions against developers, who violate construction standards, towards curbing recurring building collapses across Nigeria.

They identified unapproved developments, disregard for planning laws, quackery, inadequate site supervision, and failure to engage qualified professionals as major causes of structural failures, warning that the situation would persist without effective monitoring and enforcement.

The experts spoke in Ibadan, Oyo State, during one of the activities marking the 2026 Dosu Babatunde Week, organised in honour of the late Chief James Oladosu Babatunde, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), regarded as the father of planning administration, education, and practice in Nigeria.

Nigeria recorded at least 161 building collapse incidents between 2022 and 2024, with another 37 cases reported as of October 2025, according to figures from the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG).

Dr. Olajide Abiodun Babatunde, son of the deceased and Special Adviser on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, addressed a press conference in Ibadan alongside other leaders of the institute.

Stakeholders stressed that construction projects must undergo mandatory inspections at every critical stage, from foundation laying to the casting of floor slabs to ensure structural integrity and protect lives and property.

They condemned practices, such as casting concrete structures at night to evade regulatory inspections and allowing workers to sleep in uncompleted, unverified buildings.

They called for a collaborative building control system, involving government agencies, built-environment professionals, property developers, and the public.

Residents were urged to report unapproved developments and suspicious construction activities to planning authorities.

The week-long programme, themed Name and Place: Giving Planning a Home, ran from Tuesday, October 27, to Sunday, November 1.

At Wednesday’s event, Jide Babatunde, Chairman of the OAB Foundation, announced plans to fully equip and furnish the NITP Oyo State chapter’s new house at Quarter 704, Iyaganku GRA, Ibadan, alongside donating an 18-seater Toyota bus. The eighth Dosu Babatunde Annual Lecture was delivered on Thursday by Prof. Kingston Nyamapfene.