Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Tenants numbering over one hundred including students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, have escaped death following the collapse of another building in Awka, Anambra State.
The building collapsed on Wednesday night barely six days after Ikengaonline reported that Anambra State Government through the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA), forcefully evacuated occupants of the dilapidated building after noticing severe signs of distress with parts of the it already cracking.
An eyewitness said “the building collapsed at about 10:15 pm yesterday. I was sleeping in my house close by when the thing happened.
“I immediately came out and started making calls to know if anybody was trapped under the building but to the glory of God, nobody was trapped.”
Ikengaonline learned that it was not only students that occupied the building, but also businessmen, women and their families.
The Public Relations Officer of ACTDA, Ukpa Ewa, said the building had 96 rooms while some students shared rooms living up to five or or 3 in a room.
After their visit to the scene, Ewa confirmed that no life was lost and that no injury was sustained at the scene because the occupants had been evacuated.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commander of ACTDA Rapid Response Unit, Henry Uche Nebolisa, in an interview, blamed the construction of soakaway pits around buildings as major cause of the collapse.
“People in Ifite build their houses with big soakaway pits around it and before you could know it, the pits start to decay and affect the buildings.
“This is one of the major causes of building collapse because the building that just collapsed has nothing less than 10 soakaway pits around it.”
He further disclosed that the Agency has sent invitations to the caretaker and the landlord for other discussions and matters arising from the incident.
