Twenty-two children have been confirmed killed in a two-storey building that collapsed at Saints Academy in Jos, north-central Nigeria on Friday morning.
While local authorities say 58 injured students are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals across the state, 74 persons have been discharged.
Earlier today, the Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang visited the scene of the tragedy and ordered the immediate closure of the affected school. He also ordered immediate investigations into the building collapse.
“It deeply saddens me that these students were trapped while writing their promotion examinations. My heart goes out to the grieving mothers and families who have lost their beloved children in this tragic incident,” Mutfwang said.
The collapsed school is located in a swampy area with shaky clay soil which raises concerns about the building’s foundation. When HumAngle took a tour of the school, we spotted an open den behind one of the unaffected classroom blocks near the student lavatory. It lacked guardrails, posing a significant safety hazard for students.
“I am not a technical person, but all I can see on this debris is sand. It is a [two] storey building, and as a layman, I know that there should be a proper mixture of sand and cement,” Governor Mutfwang, who expressed his concern added.
After the incident on Friday, the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB) demolished other structures on the school compound while rescue efforts were ongoing.
In March, Mutfwang signed an Executive Order to control the illegal erection of buildings and traffic in the state, saying it became necessary “to protect our citizens from disasters, prevent Jos from deteriorating into a slum, and ensure compliance with building regulations in line with the Greater Jos Master Plan.”
Though JMDB has been implementing the governor’s order, the recent incident highlights existing gaps in the agency’s operations.
“This has spurred us to do more,” Hart Bankat, the General Manager of JMDB, told HumAngle.
Speaking with HumAngle, Terver Tyosar, a zonal coordinator from the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), confirmed that his team had collected soil samples and materials to determine the cause of the ugly incident.
“We are going to check the level of regulation, whether professionals were involved, and if the building was approved,” Tyosar said.
He added that the institute will also begin integrity assessments of public buildings, including schools, churches, markets, and hotels—particularly high-rise structures— within Plateau state and other parts of north-central Nigeria, in the coming weeks.
A day after the incident in Jos, a two-story residential building collapsed in the Kubwa area of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. The number of victims trapped in the incident is yet to be announced by authorities as of the time of filing this report.
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