‘I’m afraid of returning to school’

A three-year-old survivor of the Ita Faji, Lagos Island building collapse seems to still be suffering from trauma.

Kabiru Sasore, a pupil in the school housed in the building, was afraid of returning to school.

He said he was eating in class when he suddenly heard a loud sound, which he thought was a bomb.

“I was eating in my class when my school collapsed. I heard a loud sound, our school shook and we fell on one another. I didn’t want to go to school that day. My back and neck are still paining me. I’m still afraid. I don’t want to go to school again because I don’t want to experience a similar incident.”

Kabiru’s aunt, Balikis Muhammed, said he was discharged from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja on Thursday. She added that he is still on drugs and has an appointment for Thursday.

“His mother, Idera, is not feeling fine due to the shock caused by the incident. She has been hospitalised,” Muhammedsaid.

Another survivor, seven-year-old Farouk Abimbola, who is in Primary 3, said he would never forget the incident.

He said: “We were in the class reading with our teacher when the building suddenly started shaking and collapsed. I heard a loud sound. I saw pillars falling. Sand covered my legs and head. Some people rescued me and took me to hospital. My legs and hands are still paining me.”