In apparent move to discourage building collapse in the state and engender the spirit of quality and solid buildings, the Anambra State Government has threatened to confiscate any building that collapses in the state along with the site.

The threat was coming on the heels of incessant building collapse in the state with the most recent one, a four-storey building that killed two people happening adjacent to the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, in Orumba North Local Government of the State.

Speaking on the incident, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sam Okaula , said the police had launched a manhunt for the owner of the building. He said, “We learnt that the owner of the building lives abroad. We are making efforts to get him and the site engineer.

“Two persons have been confirmed dead and we learnt that the collapse was caused by use of substandard materials.

Investigation is ongoing. It will be recalled that in 2016, two incidents of building collapse were recorded in Oko and in each of the buildings people died.

An eyewitness account has it that the building, located close to Federal Polytechnic, Oko was owned by an indigene of the community-based in Europe.

The building, according to one Mrs. Angela collapsed at about 2: 00am following a heavy downpour. She said the victims were construction workers at the site who were fast asleep when the structure collapsed on them.

She said, one of the survivors one Samuel, a student of the Polytechnic, sustained fracture injury in the hand.

She also said, “Part of the building, which was near completion, had caved in on Monday after heavy rain and eventually collapsed on Tuesday.

That was enough sign for the workers to quit the building, but they didn’t. After a part of the building cracked, one of the workers, Musa suggested to his colleagues that they should vacate the building, but they didn’t listen to his advice.

It was not up to two hours that he gave the advice that the entire structure came down on all of them.
Confirming the incident, the state Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross, Prof. Peter Katchy, said the building was under construction.

He said the incident happened at Okoani village, Oko, in the Orumba North Local Government Area of the state.

The uncompleted building was meant to be a hostel for students of Federal Polytechnic, Oko. Three persons died they were identified as labourers from the northern part of the country”.

• Sourced from Daily Sun report

Update news