*Two dead, 35 injured in Abuja building collapse
Two people have died in a building collapse at Lagos Street in the Garki area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Thirty-five others were injured in the collapse and have been taken to hospitals around the area. The incident occurred at about 11.30 pm on Wednesday, August 23, according to Head of public Affairs, Nkechi Isah.
Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike who arrived at the scene on Thursday, August 24, promised to foot the bills of those injured in the collapse.
“This is why cities are planned, to forestall this kind of incident. I sympathise with those who have lost their lives. The government will take over the bills of those who are alive. I want everybody to support those who are working here to make sure they get to the last level so that if there are people that are still there, God willing, we will save them,” Wike said.
He also noted that the area will be sealed and ordered the immediate arrest of the property owner.
“We must identify and arrest the owners of this property. It is very important, and the government will take over the area and make sure that no further development is carried out and I want all the stakeholders to work with the government.
“These are the things we have been saying. Nobody knows whose turn it will be and therefore, it is important that when the government says they will take actions on certain areas that we believe are illegal to build or buildings that don’t comply with the standard, it is not as if anybody has any personal vendetta,” Wike said.
Wike reacted after director, of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, said the building was an unplanned structure.
FCT Senator Ireti Kingibe was also at the scene of the building collapse on Thursday.
“Everybody should get proper documentation and approval for their buildings; this is an old building there was no approval. The agency should also have a process in which they go regularly to evaluate old buildings, we the people need to comply then the agencies will do their work,” she said.
There have been at least three other cases of building collapse within the FCT in 2023.
In February, a three-storey building had collapsed in Gwarimpa, resulting in at least three deaths.
Two workers died in Wuse 2 on April 19, after an adjacent fence fell on a building under construction, trapping six workers.
In July, a four-storey building collapsed at the Life Camp area of the FCT, trapping workers in it.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.