Seven iron scavengers lost their lives after a tragic accident at a demolished building site in Sabon Lugbe, a suburban area of Abuja. The incident, confirmed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Emergency Management Agency, occurred when scavengers entered the site in search of scrap metal despite the structural dangers.
The Director of FCT Emergency Management, Mr. Abdulrahman Mohammed, shared with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that the department’s rescue team had recovered seven bodies from the site. Additionally, two other individuals were injured and are receiving medical treatment at the Federal Medical Centre.
Mr. Mohammed explained that the building, which was one of several illegal and incomplete structures, had been demolished just days earlier by the FCT Department of Development Control. The partial remains of the building were left unstable, but that did not prevent over 500 scavengers from entering the area. Desperate for valuable metal, the scavengers reportedly started pulling at iron rods, which triggered the collapse of the weakened structure.
“The scavengers invaded the site in a bid to get iron rods when the remaining part of the demolished structure caved in.
“Nobody is living in the building as claimed by reports.
“We were here last night and we are here today again. The Chairman of Miyetti Allah in the Abuja municipal was here with us and he confirmed that they lost five of their members in the incident.
“As you can see, nobody is fighting here as claimed by some people,” he said
The head of the Abuja municipal Miyetti Allah association, who was also on-site, confirmed that five of the deceased belonged to their group. He expressed his sorrow over the incident and clarified that there was no conflict on-site, as some reports had suggested.
Despite the tragic loss, the director noted that other scavengers continued to enter dangerous sites across the area. “Right now as we speak, some of them are still up there scavenging iron rods; they have been asked to leave but have refused to listen,” Mohammed said.
He also assured that measures would be taken to prevent further incidents, with the Development Control Department planning to remove all remaining unsafe structures in the area by Monday.
A police officer at the scene, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to PUNCH that the initial reports suggesting a large-scale building collapse with over 40 people trapped were inaccurate. The officer noted that the scavengers arrived only after the demolition was completed, driven by the potential scrap metal they hoped to retrieve.
Mr. Aliyu Musa, an eyewitness who also spoke with PUNCH, recounted his attempts to warn the scavengers to avoid the unstable building. “I know one of the deceased. We warned him, but he did not listen. He climbed the slab and started hitting the iron when it suddenly fell, and he died,” Musa said.
