At least two people died and four rescued when a fence adjacent to a building under construction collapsed in Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja.
News Rider gathered on Wednesday that the dead and rescued victims were the construction workers at the site of the incident.
But an eyewitness hinted that the foundation of the building was dug too close to the fence, a situation that prompted the collapse.
Appraising the incident, Director, Department of Development Control, Federal Capital Territory Development Authority (FCDA) Mukhtar Galadima said that there was an earlier order stopping work at the site until necessary measures were put in place.
“The Department of Development Control has done all within its power by even stopping the work here. But then, the developer, maybe using his engineer, did not heed the warning and then this incident happened.
“Because when you are doing this kind of activity, you need to shore it up, retain the wall so that there will be no collapse. We didn’t know that work had resumed until this thing happened this morning," he said.
Director-General of FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Dr Abbas Idriss confirmed the incident.
He said that between 10 a.m to 11 a.m on Wednesday morning, the agency received a distress call that there was a building collapse beside the United Bank for Africa Bank (UBA) at Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse II.
Idriss hinted that the agency quickly dispatched its rescue team to the site and on getting there, they discovered that a wall fell on artisans working around the area.
"So far, six people were removed from the rubbles, two died while four are in the hospital at the moment.
“It is because they extended their building and it encroached into the neighbourhood structure which eventually collapsed on the artisans."
Idriss lamented that the agency had severally sensitised FCT residents on the need to abide by building approvals and the Abuja Master Plan.
He enjoined the stakeholders saddled with the responsibility of granting building approvals in the FCT such as the Department of Development Control, Department of Engineering Services and other agencies, to issue proper approval and monitor constructions in all locations.
“That is the only way to guard against the situation because the approval is supposed to be in phases, as you give approval in phase one, when they do according to specification, you now give them approval for the second phase, which is how it should be.
“But if you give a blanket approval to just go and start the building, they can build with whatever material they can. However, in this case like I said earlier, we are not talking about usage of inferior materials," he added.
Aside Development Control Department, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), FCT Fire Service, National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were present at the scene.
Recall that on Thursday, February 2, 2023, a three-storey building still under construction and supervised by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) collapsed in the Gwarinpa area of the FCT, killing three persons.
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