A section of a student accommodation building known as Pentagon Lodge, located near the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) in Ebonyi State, collapsed on Friday afternoon.

The three-storey building reportedly developed cracks before the incident, prompting some students to vacate the premises. At the time of filing this report, no casualties had been confirmed, though several students’ belongings were believed to still be inside, particularly those who had travelled out of town.

Sources within the school environment indicate that Pentagon Lodge comprises five different blocks, and a portion of one of these blocks was involved in the collapse.

The Public Relations Officer of AE-FUNAI, Elom Iyke Ubochi, confirmed the incident to Channels Television’s correspondent in Abakaliki.

He expressed gratitude that the collapse occurred during lecture hours, implying that many students would have been out of the building and in classes, potentially minimising casualties.

“From what I’ve heard so far, there’s no casualty. It happened during school hours; students were in school for lectures and other activities, but unfortunately, some of their properties were affected.

“We’re expecting any student affected by the incident that happened in the private accommodation outside the school environment to make a formal report to the Dean of Student Affairs to let the management know, but so far, no human casualty.”

There are no immediate reports on casualties at this time, but the focus will likely be on search and rescue efforts, as well as assessing the structural integrity of the remaining parts of the building and the other blocks.