By Godwin Ogar
Up to eight persons were reportedly injured on Friday in the Jikwoyi area of Abuja when a three-storey building under construction collapsed, trapping workers who were on site.
The collapsed building has been identified as Ugo West Hotel which was still undergoing construction when the incident happened in the early hours of Friday, prompting rescue efforts by passersby and local residents before the response team from the FCT Police Command joined them.
The FCT Police Command said it received a distress call as early as 9:00am on Friday that a three-storey building had collapsed in Jikwoyi Phase 1, Abuja which prompted the Police Commissioner, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, and the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, to mobilize a rescue team.
The police rescue team, according to the Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, was later supported by the National Emmergency Management Agency, NEMA, as well as the Nigerian Red Cross, the Federal Fire Service, among others.
According to the Police spokesperson, “preliminary investigations reveal that seventeen (17) workers were actively on site at the time of the collapse. So far, eight (8) victims have been rescued from the rubble and rushed to the Sisters of the Nativity Hospital, Jikwoyi, where they are currently receiving medical attention, while nine (9) others escaped from the site unhurt.”
According to her, the Commissioner of Police has ordered a thorough investigation, in collaboration with the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, to ascertain the cause of the collapse, noting that” all individuals and authorities responsible for the approval, issuance and inspection of the construction site will be invited for questioning as part of efforts to ensure accountability and prevent future occurrences.”
