FCT probes building collapse in Abuja, seven residents killed

The Federal Capital Territory Command of the Nigeria Police has begun investigation into the  building collapse that occurred at Sabon Lugbe, along the Airport Road in the FCT on Saturday, which claimed seven lives while five others were rescued.

This is as the acting Director General of the FCT Emergency Department, Abdulrahman Mohammed, in a statement by the Head of Public Affairs, Nkechi Isa, on Sunday, explained that the structure, located at Gidash Estate, was one of the buildings marked for removal by the FCT’s Department of Development Control. He added that the seven persons, who were scavenging for iron rods and other materials, lost their lives in the process.

“What happened is that the structure was marked for removal by development control. So, these boys taking advantage of the fact that there would be no demolition at the weekend, moved in to strip the iron rods in the pillar holding up the building leading to the unfortunate incident”, he said.

According to the statement, Abdulrahman also stated that the Chairman of Miyetti Allah, FCT chapter, Mohammed Hussein, confirmed to the FEMD that the bodies of five members of the association were removed from the rubble.
“Seven other persons were rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building. Meanwhile, FEMD has called off its search and rescue, after excavation of the incident site revealed that there were no persons trapped in the rubble. The FEMD boss has appealed to scavengers to shun demolition sites and allow the FCTA to carry out the removal of structures to avert a recurrence of the incident”, the statement further read.

Meanwhile, the FEMD’s spokesperson, Isa, disclosed to our correspondent, in a phone conversation, that while the other two scavengers who died, were earlier pulled out alive from the rubble, they returned to continue scavenging before falling again to their deaths.

“Two of them, those scavengers, were very recalcitrant. They were rescued, and after treatment at the site, they went back to continue scavenging. We appealed to them not to do so, but they became violent, so we left them alone. It was while they were scavenging at another building that they fell from one of the other buildings and eventually died”, she said.
Asked about the survivors, Isa said they were taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Jabi, but had been discharged, having suffered only minor injuries.
Upon a visit to the site, on Sunday, our correspondent observed some scavengers salvaging whatever they could from the already demolished houses, while a lone bulldozer continued the demolition of houses, guarded by a few policemen.

Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command, in a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed that five persons had been rescued from the rubble, and that preliminary investigations revealed that the building was previously demolished by the FCT authorities, as it was located in an illegally acquired area.

Adeh explained that scavengers were at the site of the demolished building to retrieve scrap metal, which then led to the compromise of the structure and its resulting secondary collapse, urging residents to respect the boundaries of demolished structures to avoid any similar occurrence in the future.

“The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has confirmed the collapse of a building situated in Vidaz Estate, within the Sabon Lugbe extension, FCT. Our preliminary investigations reveal that the building was previously demolished by the FCT authorities due to its location in an illegally acquired area.”

“Regrettably, the structure was further compromised by scavengers who had been tampering with the remnants for scrap metal, ultimately leading to its secondary collapse. Five individuals were successfully rescued from the debris, and there were no reported fatalities. In light of this incident, we urge the public to respect the boundaries of demolished structures and construction sites, ensuring their safety and preventing similar occurrences in the future”, the statement read.

The FCT Director of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, in a note, also dismissed reports of the collapsed building as just propaganda, adding that information gathered, was that the site recorded an influx of over 500 scavengers, which triggered the remains of a demolished slab to fall on them.
“This is to bring to the notice of the department that the media publication concerning the collapse of a multi-storey building in Lugbe is just a PROPAGANDA. The subject building is within the site currently under demolition and the subject structure was an uncompleted building which was demolished on Thursday”.

“Information gathered is that the site recorded a mass influx of scavengers (over 500) in numbers pulling down and carting away remains of iron rods. Their activities triggered the remains of a demolished slab to fall on them”, he stated.