At least three people were killed on Wednesday when a half-constructed building collapsed in the Dutse Alhaji area of the Nigerian capital Abuja, dpa reported according to the local media.
Nine other people were taken to hospital when the multi-storey building, where dozens of people were living illegally, came down, according to The Nation newspaper.
Yushau Shuaib of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency confirmed to the newspaper that three people died.
Witnesses said the building housed at least 50 traders, vendors of drinking water, and motorbike taxi drivers on low-incomes, witnesses said.
Finding affordable accommodation in Nigeria's expensive capital can be a tough task for many low-income workers, who shelter in unfinished buildings in order to afford daily living costs.
A local council chairman told the Nigerian news agency (NAN) that construction work was abandoned years ago, after the building failed key safety checks.