How I survived Ikoyi building collapse 10 years after armed robbers almost used me for ‘sacrifice’ at OOU — Mr Innocent

A Nigerian man has gone online to give thanks to God for saving him from two major tragedies ten years apart.

The man, who identified himself as Innocent Sylvestre Denavide on Facebook, said he used to sleep in an apartment on the third floor of the ill-fated Ikoyi building that collapsed on November 1.

Innocent said he was near the building on that fateful day when he heard it crack, adding that he ran for dear life and managed to escape. Since the tragedy in which 48 people, and counting, have been confirmed dead, Innocent said he had been unable to sleep well.

“And for the first time since the building collapsed, I was able to sleep for six good hours! 11 pm to 5 am. Thank you, Jesus,” the young man wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

This morning, Innocent narrated another story — one he said happened exactly 10 years ago — in which he said his last prayers after armed robbers singled him out to be killed as ‘sacrifice’.

He wrote:

“It’s 10/11/21 today, exactly 10 years since the robbery at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU).

“On getting close to the end of their operation at some minutes past noon, someone (masked) called out for one person to be brought for a signature/sacrifice that they visited the school.

“I had prayed what I thought was my last prayer while my head was bowed in the car. I had committed my soul and spirit into my creator’s hand. ‘Father, please let ‘PROCEED INTO MY KINGDOM’ be my portion, Lord. Don’t tell me to ‘DEPART’.

“I had lost all hope of living a minute more. The car I was in was the first car they stopped. They stopped over 30 cars behind that before the operation began.

“After the demand of someone to be brought out, another guy, unmasked, walked towards the car I was in, opened the front door and brought me out. Christ! Out of scores of people in cars and buses there.

“Stepping out of the car, they asked me to kneel down in the middle of the tarred road that led to the school gate. I tried to plead for mercy. ‘I am the only son of a mother of two, please don’t kill me”.

“’Shut up,’ he retorted.

“At this junction, I knew it is over. Only God’s miraculous bulletproof vest could work and save me now. I gave up as I went on my knees with my hands raised up. I couldn’t cry anymore. Death is finally here. Before me were some ballistic weapons ranging from a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) to machine guns with chain-like bullets all over their body, pointing at me in that hot sun.

“I couldn’t even attempt running away. But thanks be to God, a third guy came, asked me to stand up and kneel in the dry gutter with my back on them.

Chai!!! To be shot from behind? I’ve got no option. Shakily, I did just that. Then later he asked me to lie down. After some minutes, he called others in all the vehicles parked to join me there.

“They had taken the lives of some people in the banking area already (at least three that I knew of). I guess that was communicated to them and that’s why they spared me.

“This is an unforgettable experience in addition to the building that collapsed last week Monday — 10 years apart, in the same month of November.

“God won’t just watch me die. He won’t let me die without completing my assignments. He loves me, and I knew it from my childhood. Instead of today being the 10 years of remembrance of me, it is 10 years of thanksgiving to Him. To Jesus I give thanks. He loves me. This I know for sure.”