AMMC probes Jabi building mishap

Stories by Stanley Onyekwere

Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) has declared resolve to swiftly and thoroughly investigate the latest incident of building collapse in the Federal Capital city.
This, the Council said would be the next phase of clearing the rubbles after which it will begin investigation into why the building collapsed.
Recall that an uncompleted building collapsed, trapping many under its rubbles, in Jabi area of the nation’s capital, on Friday.
According to the AMMC Coordinator, Umar Shuaibu disclosed that all trapped victims of the Jabi building collapse have been rescued with no deaths recorded.
“We are going to commence our investigation now and where there is any lapse, you are going to be informed and we are going to take adequate measures in order to prevent future occurrence,” Shuaibu revealed, while speaking to journalists in Abuja, shortly after touring the site of the collapsed building.
On whether the building actually passed through integrity test after about “15 years of being abandoned before the commencement of work”, he said that is an aspect that the Council will now delve into to identify the lapses.
“What happened is an unfortunate incident. This incident of building collapse happens all over the world not only in Nigeria.
“No matter how perfect you think you are, it is only God that is perfect, but there is still room for improvement.
“When you have this type of emergency, the first thing you concentrate on is saving people’s lives and I assure you that nothing is going to be hidden from you,” he stressed.
He recalled that the FCT Administration and other stakeholders responded promptly and worked overnight with floodlights and other equipments to pull out the rubbles in record time and have referred the injured persons to the hospital for medical attention.
He said apart from the initial six persons that were wounded, no other casualty figure has been recorded.
“We were very promptly to address the matter and all the stakeholders, those that we invited and those that we did not even invite, they came here because people’s lives are involved.
“We worked overnight with all floodlights, all equipments and everybody was here and in a record time, we were able to pull out everything and we made sure that there is no single person that is buried under the rubble.
“We combed everywhere. Even where we were expecting to have people, the machines went and did professional jobs,” he explained.
Shuaibu however advised the general public to stay away from the site of the collapsed building.
He warned that security agencies have been instructed to arrest those who flout this directive.
He said the site is now an emergency area and has been cordoned off to enable the Council clear the rubbles and handle other issues efficiently.