By Omowumi Omotosho
A tragic incident occurred in Ilorin on Monday evening when the indoor Badminton court located within the premises of the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority collapsed during a heavy downpour accompanied by strong wind.
At the time of the collapse, 11 people—eight adults and three young children—were reported to be inside the facility. One of the adults, identified as Yinka Ismail was reported to have lost his life with his head said to be smashed, while others managed to escape unhurt.
Ahmed Kamaldeen, a meat vendor stationed at the gate of the River Basin Authority, recounted the harrowing scene to National Pilot on Tuesday morning saying:”The storm was violent. The whole Badminton court came crashing down. The head of the man that died was smashed. It was terrifying. The iron sheets and roofing materials collapsed completely. The others were lucky to escape. The body of the man was taken to mortuary yesterday as I was about to close from work”
Another resident, Mr. Yusuf Lawal, also confirmed the incident. “The wind was strong, it was after the rain stopped around 6:30pm that we heard that the badminton court inside the Lower River Basin Development Authority premises had collapsed on one man.”
Efforts by the National Pilot to get an official response from the Lower Niger River Basin Authority were unsuccessful. Security personnel at the gate denied the reporter access into the facility. When asked for a reason, one of the guards retorted bluntly, “I don’t know but you can’t enter.”
