Abuja Wild Wind, Building Collapse On Wednesday; All You Need To Know

Published

1 year ago

August 24, 2023

Editor

Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.

What Happened

Two persons have been confirmed dead, three still trapped and thirty-seven persons were rescued when a building collapsed Wednesday night at Lagos Street in the Garki Village area of Abuja.

Wednesday night in Abuja witnessed a wild wind so to say and heavy downpour which may have resulted to the collapse of the building.

FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spokesperson Nkechi Isa confirmed the incident early Thursday

“Rescue efforts are ongoing as the search for more victims intensifies at the scene of the building collapse at Lagos Street, Garki Village opposite the Garki police station in the FCT,” she said.

“A combined team of the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps,(FRSC), FCT Police Command, and the VIO are on the ground to carry out the rescue efforts

“The two-storey building which serves both residential and commercial purposes collapsed on Wednesday night. 37 persons were rescued alive, while 2 others were fatally injured.”

According to her, the agency’s Search and Rescue team is awaiting excavators to intensify the search and ensure no victim is left in the rubble.

FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike Visited The Scene

*FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike at the scene of the collapsed building*

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike visited the area as efforts are intensified to rescue the trapped persons.

The minister, Nyesom Wike ordered the immediate identification and arrest of the owner of the building.

Speaking at the scene of the incident, Wike who noted that original residents of the area were designated for resettlement, however wondered why for years, the FCT Administration could not carry out such resettlement.

While he applauded the rescue efforts, Wike said;

“It is unfortunate that we woke this morning to the very disturbing news of this building collapse. It is not what we contemplated. Let me thank the agencies particularly NEMA and FEMA that have supported us to rescue not less than 37 lives. It is unfortunate that we lost two lives. I will appeal to the Permanent Secretary to make sure that funds are raised to pay the hospital bills of those who were rescued so that we do not lose any more person, and this should be done immediately.

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“Secondly, these are the things we have been saying, nobody knows whose turn it will be, therefore when government says it will take actions in areas we believe there are illegal developments or buildings that do not comply with the standard codes, it is not as if anybody has any personal vendetta but for me it is for us to do the right thing.

“I don’t know why it has taken long that the FCTA has not resettled them and so we will take immediate action to see that the indigenes of these place are resettled and then government has to plan out this place.

“When government says take building plan, it is not to suffer anybody but to make sure that everyone is protected. Cities are planned to forestall this kind of occurrences. Imagine buildings without approval. I will ask that we must identify and arrest the owner of this property. It is very important.

“Government will, of course, take over this area and make sure no further development is carried out here. I want all the stakeholders here to please work with government in the interest of everybody. No one has come here to say I like A, I don’t like B. I know sometimes government’s decisions may not be too comfortable with the people, but in the long run, it is in the interest of the people. Now we are all gathered here and none of us is happy we are here. These are the things we are trying to forestall. Again I sympathize with those who lost dear lives, while government will pick up the bills of all those in the hospital. We will also support the rescue efforts and ensure that they get to the last level and rescue everyone still trapped in the rubble”.

On his part, Director General of FCT Emergency Management Agency FEMA, Dr Abbas Idriss said 37 persons were rescued at the scene of the collapsed structure.

He said the victims were evacuated to various medical facilities in Abuja.

“Thirty Seven persons have so far been rescued and evacuated to hospital, others reportedly still trapped. Rescue team and others are on ground. Rescue operations on but slowly due to ongoing rain”. They are making frantic efforts at getting an excavator to remove people from the rubble”, he added.

The DG commended the efforts of all stakeholders working hard manually to rescue trapped persons, including members of the community.

It was gathered that the victims were taken to various hospitals including the National Hospital, Asokoro, Nyanya, and Garki District Hospitals, Alliance hospital and Zenith hospital.

Also speaking, Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, explained that the building had no planning approval because the area is meant for resettlement.

“The building is located within the Garki indigenous settlement. The building had two suspended floors, one used for commercial activities while the other floors were used as residential accommodation. The building caved in yesterday (Wednesday) and 37 persons were rescued

“The status of the place is that it is not a planned area so the development had no planning approval. In fact, the area is meant for resettlement from here to Apo resettlement town”

BUILDING COLLAPSE IN NIGERIA

Last month, a four-storey building collapsed in the Life Camp area of Abuja with many wounded. It happened while workers were on the construction site in the Dape Area near the Berger Clinic.

Building collapse is a common occurrence in some Nigerian cities.

Bad workmanship, low-quality materials, and corruption to bypass official oversight are often blamed for Nigerian building disasters.