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Explosion alleged in Abia building collapse, lawyer urges expanded probe
As the Abia State Government and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria are set to launch their separate investigations over the collapse of a three-storey building in Umuahia in the early hours of last Saturday, a Umuahia-based legal practitioner, Goodman Iheikwunacho, on Wednesday urged them to look beyond preconceived factors and dig deeper.
He had also alleged that reports indicated a boom or explosion sound was heard before the building crumbled.
The two teams have indicated their interest in investigating the incident, as the state government, through the Umuahia Capital Development Authority, has announced that it was going to carry out investigations as well as an integrity test on the rest of the standing 2-storey buildings belonging to the same owner in the compound.
Fielding questions from newsmen in Umuahia following concerns generated by the unfortunate incident in which a 35-year-old woman, Blessing Ugochukwu, and her two young children miraculously survived, Iheikwunacho advised, “The scope of investigations should not be circumscribed but expanded beyond the obvious factors so that the real cause of the building collapse will be unravelled and future occurrences prevented.”
While stressing the need for investigators to go beyond the usual technical issues of structural defects and non-compliance with building regulations, Iheikwunacho said, “There should be a check for possible sabotage, taking into consideration all the circumstances.
“I am aware that the owner of the collapsed building, Chief Ikechi Emenike, is a well-known political figure and governorship candidate of the APC here in Abia State in 2023. So, you can’t rule out the possibility that his enemies could be at work.
“I have also read reports in the media quoting residents of the area where the building collapsed as saying that they heard a loud boom (sound), which some said sounded like thunder; others said it sounded like an explosion.”
A property and commercial lawyer, Iheikwunacho stated, “As a top politician, you never can tell if there are people nursing grievances against him (Emenike) and might resort to doing all sorts of things to damage his name and image.”
He insisted that investigations should include looking out for extraneous factors that might have brought down the building, adding, “When an edifice crumbles like a pack of cards, a whole lot of things could have been responsible.
“So, let the investigators open their minds and approach their job from every angle and every possible lead, and in that way arrive at a conclusion that would not be questionable.”
The Abia State Government, which is set to carry out integrity tests on the two remaining buildings, has also announced that all new and old buildings in Umuahia that are above two floors will be subjected to integrity tests in order to forestall future occurrences of building collapse.
Meanwhile, COREN, Umuahia Area Office, is also poised to launch its own investigation, having already sent a technical team to the scene of the collapsed building for a preliminary assessment of the situation.
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