Wike orders probe, seals site after building collapse that killed four

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered a full-scale investigation and sealed off a construction site after a building collapse in the capital that killed four people and injured several others.

Visiting the scene on Monday, a visibly shaken Wike described the loss as “very pathetic” and said the government would take over the premises while an expert panel is set up to determine what went wrong. He said one of the site engineers had already been arrested and the developer would be detained next.

“From the report I got, we lost four persons. Nobody is happy when you lose somebody,” Wike said. “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 really look at what happened.”

Preliminary findings link the disaster to severe foundational failure caused by an undetected, poorly backfilled local well beneath the building footprint.

Wike used the visit to warn developers against circumventing regulatory checks and to question material quality and foundation choices made on the project. “When you are constructing buildings of this nature, the lives of the people are very, very important,” he said. “We must know the quality of materials. What does the soil test allow? Can it support two or three floors? Will it allow for piling or a raft foundation? All these are key.”

He also criticised sections of the press and critics who, he said, frame regulatory enforcement as harassment. “Sometimes when we come to a site like this, the press has not been kind to us. Instead of finding out why the government is taking action, some people resort to blackmailing government officials to look for money. But look at these lives. How can you buy back these lives? They are gone. It is the responsibility of government to protect life and property,” Wike added.

He directed Department of Development Control to conclude its preliminary inquiry, while the independent expert panel will scrutinise structural designs, the authenticity of soil tests, and supervision logs to assign liability for the fatal collapse.

Director of the Department of Development Control, Bashir Sanusi, said an independent integrity test by a consultant identified critical underground anomalies hidden from the developers. He explained that the soil was largely dredged waterways accumulated over years, and a historic local well filled with loose debris and clay lay directly under where columns had been placed.

“Column C and D were unfortunately placed directly on top of this hidden pit. The depth of the well was two meters, but the length of the columns was only 1.5 meters. That shortage and structural gap created the collapse,” Sanusi said.

Sanusi defended his department’s oversight, saying regular soil tests and approvals had been obtained and his team supervised stages of the work. “Before approval, there must be a soil test. My guys were here supervising every stage, from the foundation to the last floor. But if a local well is backfilled with debris and clay underground, development control volume tests will not detect that from the surface,” he said.

The FCTA said further arrests could be made depending on the panel’s findings.