By Philip Yatai
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the collapse of a three-storey building in Abuja that left five people dead and 12 others injured.
Wike, who gave the directive when he visited the site in Abuja on Monday, disclosed that the site engineer had been arrested, adding that the developer would also be taken into custody.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the building, behind Gudu Market was under construction when it collapsed at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday
Describing the incident as “very pathetic”, the minister expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
He said the Department of Development Control had sealed off the premises and was concluding preliminary findings on the incident.
Wike added that the FCTA would set up an expert panel to determine the cause of the collapse, emphasising that regulatory compliance was critical to safeguarding lives.
He explained that the panel is expected to scrutinise the structural designs, soil test authenticity, and supervision logs to determine ultimate liability for the fatal collapse.
“When you are constructing buildings of this nature, the lives of the people are very, very important.
“We must know the quality of materials. What does the soil test allow? Can it support two or three floors? Will it allow for piling or a raft foundation? All these are key.”
The minister warned developers against any atempt to bypass government regulatory checks, reiterating that building policies exist to safeguard human lives, not to delay development.
Director of the Department of Development Control, Mr Bashir Sanusi, said preliminary findings indicated possible underground structural failure at the site.
Sanusi explained that a poorly backfilled local well beneath the building might have contributed to the collapse.
“Column C and D of the building were unfortunately placed directly on top of this hidden pit.
“The depth of the well was two meters, but the length of the columns was only 1.5 meters. That shortage and structural gap created the collapse,” Sanusi explained.
He added that although soil tests and approvals were obtained, underground anomalies such as filled wells might not be easily detected during standard surface-level assessments.(NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
