Building collapse in Nigeria’s capital leaves at least 7 dead, authorities say

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least seven people were killed when a building collapsed in a suburban area of ​​Nigeria’s capital over the weekend, a local official said Monday.

“We have suspended search and rescue because we dug and no one was left in the rubble,” said Nkechi Isa, spokesperson for the Abuja city emergency department.

Building collapses are increasingly common in Nigeria; In the last two years, more than a dozen incidents of this type have been recorded. Authorities often blame such disasters on a lack of compliance with building safety standards and poor maintenance.

The building that collapsed on Saturday, located in the Sabon-Lugbe area, had already been partially demolished and its structure was further compromised by scavengers looking for scrap metal, according to a statement by the Abuja police released on Sunday.

Abuja police spokesperson Josephine Adeh said five people were rescued from the rubble.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has recorded 22 building collapses between January and July this year, according to the Nigerian Engineering Regulation Council.

In July, A two-story school collapsed in north-central Nigeria. killing 22 students. The Saints Academy college in the Busa Buji community of Plateau State collapsed shortly after students, many of whom were 15 years old or younger, arrived for classes.