At least seven people have been confirmed dead in the building collapse in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
Many other occupants of the building sustained injuries, the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Department (FEMD) said.
Nkechi Isa, the FEMD spokesperson, told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday that the official death toll from the collapse is seven.
The collapse, which occurred around 5 p.m. on Saturday, left a harrowing scene as residents scrambled to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble.
Videos shared across social media on Saturday depicted frantic scenes of onlookers and residents digging through debris with their hands and makeshift tools in the absence of emergency responders. Their swift, improvised actions became a lifeline to the victims trapped below.
Emergency responders from the FEMD did not arrive the venue until Sunday morning, officials and residents of the area told PREMIUM TIMES.
On Sunday, at the scene, witnesses spoke about how the building collapsed.
This newspaper learnt that the building was one of those marked for demolition by the Abuja authorities because it was built without approval.
Knowing that the building would the demolished, the official occupants vacated it and left it unoccupied.
Abuja authorities recently began demolishing buildings in the Sabon Lugbe area, including the one that collapsed on Saturday. However, the demolition was only partially done, and the carcass was then occupied by poor scavengers in the area, known as ‘Mai bola.’
Shehu Mohammed, one of the Mai bola, said that the bulldozers that did the demolition cut through the building’s foundation.
Mr Mohammed said about 13 people were inside the building when “bulldozers touched the building from the bottom,” triggering the collapse.
“Three of our brothers died and ten others were injured,” he said, adding that residents were unaware of any demolition plans.
Another resident, Dahiru Ali, estimated a higher death toll, claiming that 15 people had died.
Meanwhile, Husseini Usman, who helped bury victims at Sabon Lugbe’s Muslim burial ground, reported that he witnessed the burial of three people.
Mrs Isa, the FEMD spokesperson, denied that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the agency responsible for urban planning and development in Abuja, had commenced the demolition of the building with bulldozers.
She said unauthorised scavenging, not the official demolition, likely led to the collapse.
“Contrary to reports that Development Control was actively demolishing this building, they had not touched it,” Mrs Isa said in a telephone interview on Sunday.
She suggested that scavengers who were trying to steal iron from the building’s foundation caused the collapse.
“They were using mallets to strike pillars, attempting to extract the metal. That pillar, which was holding the building up, simply gave way,” she said.
She said the building’s owners had sold the structure to scavengers.
“Those scenes you saw—it’s scavengers stripping the building. Their actions may have been what compromised its integrity,” she stated.
Before the collapse, Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, ordered the immediate demolition of unauthorised structures within the Sabon Lugbe South District.
Rabi Umar, the assistant director of press, conveyed Mr Wike’s orders in a statement issued Tuesday.
The minister had undertaken an unscheduled visit to the area, accompanied by heads of various security agencies.
“These are land grabbers operating without legitimate documentation, and we will not allow it,” Mr Wike said. He instructed the Department of Development Control to work with security agencies to enforce the removal of illegal structures.
He said any building lacking official approval from the FCT Administration would be demolished, describing these developments as violations of Abuja’s land-use laws.
The minister also warned that security personnel would arrest anyone obstructing the demolition process.
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