On Wednesday, April 19, a building collapse in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)’s Wuse 2 neighbourhood resulted in the deaths of TWO people.
Six construction workers were trapped when a fence next to the building collapsed onto the still-under-construction building.
Eyewitnesses claim that the building’s foundation was erected too closely to the neighbouring homes and interfered with the fence of the building next door, causing it to collapse.
Adebayo Amiola, Head of Operations, FCT Fire Service, in a press conference with journalists at the scene, corroborated eyewitness accounts by stating that there was no retaining wall around the structure that might have prevented the incident.
“Of the six trapped individuals, four were found alive and two suffered fatal injuries. Construction workers were injured when the nearby fence to the main building collapsed while it was still being built.
“No retaining wall was introduced while they were excavating the site where the building will be situated, so the adjacent wall fell on the people that were working,” Amiola claimed.
According to him, the injured have been taken to the General Hospital in Asokoro for medical attention.
According to Mukhtar Usman Galadima, director of the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority’s (FCDA) Department of Development Control, an earlier order had stopped work at the location until the necessary precautions were taken.
“Even stopping the work here, the Department of Development Control has done everything within its power. The developer did not heed the warning, perhaps under the influence of his engineer, and this incident ensued.
“Because when performing this type of activity, you need to support the wall and hold it in place to prevent collapse. Before this morning, we were unaware that work had started up again.
In addition to other organisations, there were personnel from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), FCT Fire Service, and National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on the scene.
Three people were killed on February 2 when a three-story building that was still being built collapsed in the FCT’s Gwarimpa neighbourhood.
The allocation for the plot on which the building was being built was subsequently revoked by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
A shopping mall building collapsed in the Kubwa neighbourhood of the FCT in 2022, killing at least two people.
