Abuja building collapse: We complained several times about structural cracks, says tenant

Bright Chima has made a name for herself trading on Lagos street in Garki area of Abuja for over 13 years. She would retire early to her house after each day’s business. But on Wednesday, Chima was forced to stay in her shop till late in the night because of heavy rainfall. When the rain refused to abate, Chima called her husband to drive her home to save her from being drenched. 

Around 11:30 pm, as Chima and her husband were about to lock up the doors of the shop, they heard a thud with dust covering their faces. Chima jumped out, together with her husband, to catch the sight of how the building housing her shop was collapsing. 

Speaking with TheCable, Chima said she had complained several times to the management of the plaza about the structural cracks in the building.

“I rented two apartment shops here. I am one of the oldest tenants. I have spent more than 13 years. We have complained to the management of this building countless times about structural cracks,” Chima said with a teary face.

“Their response is always affirmative without actions. They will tell you ‘We will do it’. We have requested many times to see the landlord. They kept on denying us access to him. At times, you will see this compound full of defecation.

“We were about to step out of the shop before we heard the creaky sound of the building caving in on us. We jumped out and looking back, we realised the building had collapsed. I pay N1.5 million per annum for my two shops here and the total worth of goods inside is over N10 million.”

About 35 persons were rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building while two persons died. 

‘THE BUILDING WAS WEAK… THE SIGNS WERE OBVIOUS’

Godwin Peter, a resident who witnessed the collapse, said as it was raining, the building was shaking when the breeze became stronger. 

Peter said the building caved in after it could not withstand the breeze any longer. 

He added that prior to the incident, the building — arguably one of the oldest on the street — had shown obvious weakness with structural cracks. 

“There were signs and it was obvious that the building was weak. There was a heavy rainfall with a strong breeze. The building is a residential apartment as well as a shopping complex. It was shaking and people were coming out,” Peter said.

FCT MINISTER ORDERS ARREST OF LANDLORD

Nyesom Wike, the minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), has ordered the arrest of the owner of the collapsed two-storey building. 

Wike gave the order when he visited the site of the collapsed building. 

The minister said the FCTA will resettle indigenous residents of the community to allow government agencies to properly plan the area and forestall future occurrences.

Wike also said the city administration will also foot the medical bills of the 35 victims.

‘A MAN-MADE ERROR THAT CAN BE AVOIDED’

Samson Duna, the director-general of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), said the collapse of the building was an avoidable human error. 

Duna said NBRII will “carry out a thorough investigation to identify the root cause of the collapse.” He added that the building looks expired by mere physical observation of the team. 

The director-general said the agency will carry out integrity tests on all distressed buildings in Abuja. 

“This is an ugly situation. This is a man-made error that could have been eradicated or minimised. It is unfortunate,” Duna said.  

“The minister directed that all distressed buildings should be identified and once they are identified, we will carry out comprehensive tests on the building. Once it has been identified that your building does not meet up with the requirements, we will mark it for demolition. This is what we intend to do immediately without wasting time.

“It is very painful especially when lives are lost. We want to ensure that this ugly incident never happens again.”

Additional reporting by Ahmad Sahabi