Four injured as part of 60-year-old building collapses in Rivers

Four persons were injured after part of an old building collapsed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, prompting the authorities to move occupants out and warn residents against living in distressed buildings.

The collapse happened at No. 18 Club Road, Old Port Harcourt Township, on the night of Friday, October 9, at about 9pm. A roof slab and an extension of the front balcony of the two-storey building came down. No lives were lost. Reports differ on the number hurt: most say four people were injured, while Silverbird TV put it at five.

Rivers State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Amairigha Edward Hart, inspected the building on Saturday. He said the building, believed to be more than 50 years old, had outlived its lifespan and was no longer safe to live in. Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society also visited the scene. The cause of the collapse has not been officially established.

Hart said his ministry has started an audit of old buildings, beginning in Diobu and extending to other parts of Port Harcourt, to find structures that have passed their lifespan, tell occupants to leave, and recommend major restoration where a building has not totally failed. Further structural checks this week will decide whether the Club Road building is demolished or restored.

He urged residents to allow integrity tests on suspected distressed buildings, warned that neighbouring buildings put up around the same time could also be at risk, and advised people to avoid renting old and distressed properties. The statement was signed by Boma Waribor, Press Secretary to the Commissioner.

The collapse is the latest in a string of building failures in Port Harcourt. In June, a building under construction along Odili Road collapsed, and one person was confirmed dead.

Sources: Rivers State Ministry of Physical Planning statement, Silverbird TV, Channels Television and Tribune, October 2026.