A building in Abuja’s Sabon-Lugbe area collapsed over the weekend, killing at least seven, police confirmed Monday.
The building had already been partly demolished, and its structure was further weakened by scavengers searching for scrap metal, according to the Abuja police.
Police spokesperson Josephine Adeh reported that five people were rescued from the rubble on Sunday.
Building collapses have become increasingly common in Nigeria, with over a dozen incidents in the past two years.
Officials often attribute these tragedies to weak enforcement of building regulations and inadequate maintenance.
In 2024 alone, Nigeria has witnessed 22 building collapses from January to July, according to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.
The country, the most populous in Africa, continues to grapple with building safety concerns.
In July, a school collapse in north-central Nigeria’s Plateau state killed 22 students.
The two-story Saints Academy in Busa Buji crumbled shortly after students, many 15 or younger, had arrived for classes.
Local and federal authorities are under increasing pressure to address building safety issues in light of repeated incidents.
