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Two persons have been confirmed dead while three others were critically injured and are in the hospital receiving treatment, following the collapse of a four-storey building on Saturday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The confirmation of the casualty figure came in the wake of the decision by the state government to constitute a board of inquiry into the building collapse, warning that persons culpable will not be spared.
It was reported that a four-storey building under construction located at Iman street, off Aka road, Uyo, the State capital, collapsed on Saturday, trapping construction workers in the rubble.
The state deputy governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo, who led other government functionaries including the state commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durusinmi, said he was at the scene to have a first-hand information of the situation and to sympathise with those who lost their loves ones in the sad incident.
Speaking while fielding questions from newsmen on Sunday, Mr Ekpo said the State government will set up
an enquiry to find why and how it happened, adding that any one found guilty would be sanctioned.
He said, “I came here first and foremost to sympathise with the families of those who lost their love ones and since I came, this is the question I have been asking, ‘where are the relations?’
“We must also investigate why and how it happened, to ascertain the personalities that are involved.
“It is after the enquiry that the state government would know what to do, but like I said earlier, whoever violate the building regulations, the law must take its course.”
Meanwhile, the Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, South South,Godwin Tepikor, who confirmed the casualty figure while speaking with newsmen called for enhanced enforcement of building codes in the country.
He said, “I was informed about this incident about 7pm yesterday (Saturday) and I quickly mobilised relevant stakeholders namely; the federal road safety corps, the Civic Defense, the fire service and the Red Cross.
