A 26-year-old member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Zainab Sanni Oyindamola, has been confirmed dead in the 21-storey building that collapsed in the Ikoyi area of Lagos.
The lifeless body of Zainab, who was serving with the construction company, Fourscore Homes Limited, was pulled out from the rubble on Wednesday, November 3, dashing the hope of her family members who had been at the scene waiting for good news.
It was gathered that the deceased’s mother got her redeployed from Borno State due to insecurity.
According to Daily Trust, the deceased was among the six Corps members deployed to the company. But while others escaped by a whisker on the fateful day, Oyindamola got trapped in the rubble.
A source at the NYSC confirmed to Daily Trust that as of now, Oyindamola was the only corps member who died in the incident.
“Oyin, as she was fondly called, was a 2021 batch B corps member who was originally deployed to Maiduguri but got a redeployment to Lagos after the three-week orientation,” the source said.
A family member, who spoke with journalists at the scene of the incident, said Oyindamola assumed work at the company about three weeks ago.
“She has been coming here since then. We don’t even know why they sent her here. She was originally posted to Borno, but her mother redeployed her. If we had known, we would have allowed her to continue her youth service in that state”, the family source said.
“We asked her not to go to Borno because of the insurgency, but she went there for the three-week orientation and came back alive, only to come and die. She was a very humble and respectful girl; she would greet everybody when she arrived from work every day. She is the first daughter of her mother, and they are just two.”
The tragic death of Oyindamola further highlights the immense human toll of the disaster, which also claimed the life of Femi Osibona, the high-profile Managing Director of Fourscore Homes Limited.
Osibona, a wealthy real estate developer celebrated for his ambitious luxury projects across Nigeria and the United Kingdom, was trapped inside the 21-storey structure alongside his workers and visitors when it pancaked on November 1.
His body was recovered days later from the debris of his own flagship project, cutting short a prominent career and leaving behind a wave of intense public scrutiny regarding structural safety approvals and the corporate accountability of the development firm.
Meanwhile, friends and colleagues have taken to Facebook to mourn the deceased. One Agboola Yusuf Olatunji posted her photos last night.
“She was among the victims of the 21-storey building collapse at Ikoyi, but we lost her. May Her Gentle Soul Rest in Perfect Peace. Sanni Zainab Oyindamola Ayinke. We love you, but Almighty Allah loves you more,” he wrote.
