Wike orders arrest of collapsed building owner in Abuja

The FCT minister, Nyesome Wike, has ordered the immediate arrest of the building owner following the collapse of a two-story building at Lagos Street in Garki 2 in Abuja at around 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday.

When Wike visited the accident site on Thursday, he gave the order and praised the ongoing rescue operations, saying it was regrettable that they had to wake up to the very upsetting news of this building collapse.

“It is not what we contemplated. Let me thank the agencies particularly the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other agencies that has supported us to rescue not less than 32 lives. Unfortunately, we lost two lives.

“I will appeal to the permanent secretary to make sure that funds are raised to pay the hospital bills of those who were rescued, so that we do not lose any more people and this should be done immediately.

“Secondly, these are the things we have been saying, nobody knows whose turn it will be, therefore when the government says it will take actions in areas we believe there are illegal developments or buildings that don’t comply with the standard codes, it is not as if anybody has any personal vendetta but for me, it is for us to do the right thing,” he said.

The FCTA minister also expressed displeasure that it had taken so long to relocate residents of Garki village, promising to take immediate action to ensure that this happens before the government can begin planning the region.

He further said: “When the government says take building plan, it is not to suffer anybody but to make sure that everyone is protected. Cities are planned to forestall this kind of occurrence. Imagine buildings without approval. I will ask that we identify and arrest the owner of this property. It is very important.

“Government will of course take over this area and make sure no further development is carried out here. I want all the stakeholders here to please work with the government in the interest of everybody. No one has come here to say I like A, I do not like B.

“I know sometimes government decisions may not be too comfortable with the people, but in the long run, it is in the interest of the people. Now we are all gathered here and none of us is happy we are here, these are the things we are trying to forestall.

The structure is inside the Garki indigenous village, according to Muktar Galadima, head of FCTA Development Control, who also spoke. The building has two suspended levels, one of which is utilised for business operations and the other two are for housing.

The region, he said, is intended for resettlement from here to Apo resettlement town and is not a designated area, so the development did not receive planning approval.

Source