Abia building collapse: Investigations must look beyond technical issues, consider sabotage – Property expert

Abia building collapse: Investigations must look beyond technical issues, consider sabotage – Property expert

By Steve Oko

Abia-based legal practitioner and property expert, Mr Goodman Iheikwunacho, has urged investigators probing last week’s collapse of a three storey building in Umuahia, to look beyond preconceived factors and dig deeper to unravel the actual cause of the incident.

Iheikwunacho gave the advice in a chat with newsmen following concerns generated by the unfortunate incident which occurred Saturday morning.

A 35-year old woman, Mrs Blessing Ugochukwu, and her two young children, escaped by providence although she sustained minor injuries.

The property expert said the investigators should also consider possible sabotage as they carry out their assignment.

Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA) has vowed to investigate the incident and subject every building from two storey and above to integrity test.

Similarly, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria(COREN), Umuahia Area Office, is also poised to launch its its own investigation having already sent a technical team to the scene of the collapsed building for preliminary assessment of the situation.

Commenting on the incident, Iheikwunacho said that the scope of investigations should not be circumscribed but expanded beyond the obvious factors with a view to unraveling the actual cause and preventing future incidents.

He harped on the need for investigators to go beyond the usual technical issues of structural defects and non-compliance with building regulations, and check for possible sabotage taken into consideration all the circumstances.

He said:”I’m aware that the owner of the collapsed building, Chief Ikechi Emenike is a well known political figure and governorship candidate of APC here in Abia State in 2023. So, you can’t rule out the possibilities 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 loud boom, which some said sounded like thunder, others said like an explosion,” he said.

Iheikwunacho, who is a property and commercial lawyer, noted that 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, therefore, insisted that investigations should include looking out for extraneous factors that might have brought down the building, adding that “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,” Iheikwunacho said.

 

Steve Oko, Publisher/C.E.O, WaWa News Global. For more information on advert placement and news coverage, contact us on: 08038725600, or via email stevemanofgod2000@yahoo.com; wawanewsglobal@gmail.com Always read WaWa News Global - Your most dependable online news platform for the latest breaking news in Nigeria.

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