Building Collapse: FCT Minister Orders Arrest, Prosecution Of FHA Officials, Developer

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello, has ordered security agencies to arrest the officials of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in charge of granting the development permit, and saddled with monitoring the development, and the developer of the collapsed two-storey building in Gwarinpa District in Abuja on Thursday.

The coordinator of Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Umar Shuaibu, who disclosed this development to journalists during a briefing on Saturday, said that the minister also ordered the arrest of the engineer supervising the development,

He also directed that all of them be charged for the manslaughter of those that lost their lives in the building collapse incident.

Shuaibu also explained that the uncompleted building that collapsed two days ago at 6th Avenue in Gwarimpa Estate, trapped 24 persons, with three confirmed dead, while 21 people were rescued alive.

He said that preliminary findings suggested that there were breaches in the location, the building plan approval, the control, and the monitoring of the development by the FHA, with glaring criminal tendencies by the developer, and or his representative during the construction activities.

“Also revealed was the glaring incapacity of the FHA to handle development control in Abuja and shoulder the responsibility of sensitive operations of this nature in cases of emergencies.

“The Gwarinpa Estate is only a fraction of what constitutes the entire Federal Capital City adequately managed by the FCT Administration, however, many of these unfortunate incidences were witnessed there in the past. Hence, the FCTA’s resolve to revisit that mandate ceded, granting development permits and control to the FHA in the Gwarinpa Estate.

“Consequently, the FCT administration will conduct a thorough investigation to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the incidence, and take an appropriate step towards prevention of future occurrence,” he said.

Shuaibu noted that among the statutory responsibilities of the FCTA, is the development of the Federal Capital City (FCC) and Territory, in line with the Abuja Master Plan.

“Accordingly, the entire Gwarinpa Estate, occupying the Wupa, Gwarinpa 2, and Bunkoro District of Phase III of the City development, was allocated to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) by the FCT Administration, to provide essentially houses and attendant services to the citizens.

“They are to develop, control and monitor, to ensure strict compliance with the Abuja Master Plan, using the land use plan as provided by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) as a guide.

“However, this incidence is suggesting that there are flagrant violations in the development guidelines of the Wupa and Bunkoro District as developed and controlled by the FHA,” he said.

The coordinator stated that all the surrounding developments identified by the AMMC Development Control around the affected neighbouhood, that require investigation of their structural integrity, were henceforth sealed and declared out of bound by anybody, pending the outcome of the integrity test presently being conducted, that if found to be faulty, they are going to be demolished by the FCT administration, before any life is endangered.