Nine persons have been rescued from a sinking building in the Maryland area of Lagos on Monday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. The building was impacted by flood arising from dawn rainfall in parts of Lagos.

The landlord, however, proved smart for the water and sinking house as he quickly escaped using a ladder. He later reappeared after the house had sunk, was arrested and handed over to the police.

The Lagos Territorial Coordinator of the agency Ibrahim Farinloye confirmed the development, thus:

“NEMA received a distress alert on a sinking storey building where nine people are said to be trapped. The building is located at 47 Akinwunmi street, Akinwunmi North, Estate Mende, Maryland, Ikeja.

“All nine trapped ladies have been successfully rescued,” he added.

One of the survivors identified simply as Ms Blessing said that affected persons were mostly ladies.

Farinloye said that “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 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 said.

Other agencies who were on the ground include the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA); the State Fire Service, and Police Disaster Management Unit.