/ 26 March 2008

Nigerian schoolchildren die in wall collapse

Thirteen students in a private Nigerian primary school died and several others were injured when a boundary wall collapsed, police said on Wednesday.

”It was an unfortunate incident. Thirteen children lost their lives while several others, including their teachers, were also injured,” Oyo state police spokesperson Bisi Okuwobi said.

She added that police were investigating the cause of Tuesday’s accident in Ibadan, about 120km from Lagos.

Building collapses are fairly recurrent in Nigeria and are mainly due to the use of substandard materials and violations of construction regulations.

At least seven people were killed and several more were trapped when a four-storey building collapsed in Lagos last month. — Sapa-AFP