By Sofiat Adenekan-Abdul
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered a full investigation into the building collapse in Abuja that claimed four lives and left several others injured, directing authorities to seal off the premises and arrest those responsible for the project.
The incident, which occurred at a construction site in the nation’s capital, has been linked to structural failure allegedly caused by a poorly backfilled local well beneath the foundation.
Speaking during an inspection of the site on Monday, Wike described the tragedy as unfortunate and reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to enforcing building regulations to protect lives and property.
“From the report I got, we lost four persons. Nobody is happy when you lose somebody. The government is taking over this site. The Department of Development Control has sealed off the premises, and we are setting up an expert panel to look into what happened,” he said.
The minister disclosed that one of the site engineers had already been arrested, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend the developer.
Wike warned developers against bypassing regulatory procedures, stressing that compliance with building standards remains critical to public safety.
“When you are constructing buildings of this nature, the lives of the people are very important. We must know the quality of materials and whether the soil can support the structure,” he stated.
He also criticised attempts to politicise or undermine government enforcement actions, insisting that regulatory measures are necessary to prevent avoidable disasters.
Providing technical details on the incident, the Director of the Department of Development Control, Bashir Madaki Sanusi, said preliminary investigations revealed that parts of the building foundation were erected directly above a hidden local well filled with debris and clay.
According to him, the underground defect was not detected during routine surface assessments.
“Column C and D were unfortunately placed directly on top of this hidden pit. The depth of the well was two metres, while the column length was only 1.5 metres. That structural gap caused the collapse,” Sanusi explained.
He added that the site had undergone the required soil tests and regulatory supervision before approval, noting that the hidden underground condition was difficult to identify through standard checks.
The FCT Administration said an independent panel would further investigate the structural designs, soil integrity reports, and supervision processes to determine responsibility for the collapse.
