Two individuals trapped in a three-storey building under construction that collapsed on Tuesday evening in Abakaliki have been rescued.
The building, owned by Hon. Ukie Ezeali, a lawmaker representing Afikpo North East, collapsed around 5:00 PM.
The structure shares a fence with the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State (AE-FUTHA) 1.
According to reports, one of the trapped victims was rescued and rushed to the hospital shortly after the collapse.
The second person was found around 7:54 PM, in a weakened state, and was also taken to the hospital.
This incident occurred just four days after another three-storey hotel building under construction collapsed on Eduna Street along Hatchery Road in the capital.
Speaking with newsmen in Abakaliki, the Commissioner for Capital City and Urban Development, Mr Sunday Inyima, blamed the lawmaker, Ezeali, for the collapse.
“What happened here is very unfortunate. We have a building collapse in the early hours of this afternoon.
“I was called and mobilised my men to the scene, and we saw that the building actually collapsed. I thank God that we rescued the two persons trapped,” Inyima said.
“Originally, this is an illegal structure because the owner of the building came to our ministry, and the HOD on works told him that he cannot build there. The drawing he provided was not approved.
“However, because this place shares a fence with the hospital, the monitoring team did not observe that the building was ongoing there.
“We expected that, as an honourable member of the state house of assembly, he should have taken caution and refrained from going ahead with this structure, but he defied our instructions.”
Inyima further stated, “We have arrested two persons who were overseeing the site for him. I have called the honourable member to report himself to the police.”
The incident has raised concerns about the enforcement of building regulations and safety standards in the state. (Tribune)