Toll climbs in Nigeria building collapse

Thirty-four people are confirmed dead after a building collapse in Nigeria, while another 13 people have been pulled from the rubble by rescuers.

Thirty-four people are confirmed dead after a building collapse in Nigeria. (AAP)

Officials say the collapse of a building complex under construction has killed 34 mainly foreign workers in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos.

National Emergency Management Agency's spokesman Ibrahim Farinloye said on Thursday that 13 people were saved from the rubble in the rescue operation that started after the Tuesday pre-dawn collapse and ended on Wednesday night.

He said most victims were from Benin and Niger.

Lagos state says it had ordered work to stop because the construction was not approved, and that Lekki Gardens property development directors will be prosecuted.

Buildings collapse often in Nigeria because corruption has builders cutting corners.

In 2014, a building of the Synagogue Church of All Nations caved in and killed 116 people.