By Ghazali Ibrahim 
A growing frustration enveloped the iconic Cocoa House in Ibadan on Monday morning after an unidentified man fell from the top floor of the 26-storey building.
The incident, which happened in the early hours of the day, left many stunned, as they struggled to make sense of the horrifying scene.
“At first, I thought it was a large bird dropping from the sky,” one eyewitness recounted.
“It was only when he hit the roof beside the security post and then the ground that I realized this was a person. I had my phone in hand, but I couldn’t even move to record anything. I was frozen.”
Another witness described the scene as terrifying and said confusion reigned as onlookers gathered in disbelief, with no clear information about how or why the man fell.
While details remain sketchy, the incident has reignited frustration over safety measures and transparency at one of Nigeria’s most historic commercial high-rises.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, managers of Cocoa House, confirmed the incident.
According to Victor Ayetoro, Head of Branding and Communication, the man was immediately rushed to the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan by emergency response teams.
“The company expresses deep concern over this tragic development and assures the public of its full cooperation with the authorities investigating the incident,” the statement read.
However, many in the building and across the city say the company’s assurances offer little comfort for workers.
For some, the silence around the victim’s identity and condition only deepens the sense of unease.
Cocoa House, once a proud symbol of Western Nigeria’s economic strength, now finds itself at the center of a mystery.
