At least 34 people have died and 222 others injured in building collapses in Nigeria this year alone, according to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
The organization’s president, Prof. Sadiq Zubairu Abubakar, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
Abubakar expressed concern over the increasing number of building collapses in the country, citing statistics that show Lagos State has recorded 91 incidents resulting in 354 deaths from 2012 to date. Similarly, Abuja has witnessed 30 building collapses, resulting in 65 deaths from 1993 to date.
This year, 22 building collapses have been recorded, with Lagos accounting for 28%, Abuja and Anambra State 19%, Ekiti and Plateau States 9%, and Kano, Taraba, and Niger States 5% each.
Abubakar attributed the causes of building collapses to the use of substandard materials, structural failure, illegal alteration of buildings, and illegal conversion of building use.
He also noted that developers are responsible for most collapses, using substandard materials to cut costs, and often go unpunished.
To address the issue, COREN plans to conduct enforcement exercises on buildings under construction and old buildings to ensure their durability.
The organization will also organize a national summit with relevant agencies to find ways to mitigate building collapses in Nigeria.
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