A recent building collapse in Abuja has tragically claimed the lives of individuals, with many others still trapped under the rubble.
Current reports stated that at least seven people have been confirmed dead in the building collapse in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
According to the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Department (FEMD), Many other occupants of the building sustained injuries.
Nkechi Isa, the FEMD spokesperson, stated that the official death toll from the collapse was seven.
The collapse, which occurred around 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, left a harrowing scene as residents scrambled to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble.
Images 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.
According to the residents, the Emergency responders from the FEMD did not arrive the venue until Sunday morning.
Abuja Building Collapse
On Sunday, at the scene, witnesses spoke about how the building collapsed.
Reporters were told 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.
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“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.
Official blames scavengers
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.
However, 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 also 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.
