Wike Orders Arrest Of Landlord Of Collapsed Two-Storey Plaza In Nigerian Capital, Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike has ordered the immediate arrest of the landlord of the two-storey building that collapsed in Lagos Crescent located in Garki 2 of Abuja.

Wike during an on-the-spot assessment of the collapsed building on Thursday ordered that the occupants of the facility be resettled.

According to him, “It is not as if anybody has any personal vendetta but for me it is for us to do the right thing. I don’t know why it has taken so long that the FCTA has not resettled them and so we will take immediate action to see that the indigenes of these places are resettled and then the government has to plan out this place.

“When government says take a building plan, it is not to suffer anybody but to make sure that everyone is protected. Cities are planned to forestall these kinds of occurrences. Imagine buildings without approval. I will ask that we must identify and arrest the owner of this property. It is very important.

“Government will of course take over this area and make sure no further development is carried out here. I want all the stakeholders here to please work with the government in the interest of everybody. No one has come here to say I like A, I don’t like B. I know sometimes government decisions may not be too comfortable with the people, but in the long run it is in the interest of the people”, he said.

Wike, however, applauded the ongoing rescue efforts , saying, “It’s unfortunate that we woke this morning to the very disturbing news of this building collapse. It is not what we contemplated. Let me thank the agencies particularly NEMA and FEMA that have supported us to rescue not less than 37 lives. It’s unfortunate that we lost two lives.