By Halimah Olamide
The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), has attributed the cause of the building collapse at the Saint Academy Jos, to substandard materials and poor construction work.
The Director General of NBRRI, Prof. Samson Duna, disclosed this during a news conference on Tuesday in Jos.
NPO reports that last Friday, at about 8:30 a.m., a two storey-building collapsed at the school, located at Busa-Buji community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau.
The incident led to the death of 22 persons and 132 others severely injured.
The director general said that the incident prompted NBRRI to constitute a committee headed by Prof. Fredrick Job of the University of Jos, to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the building collapse.
Duna said that the committee’s preliminary investigation revealed that the collapsed structure was already ”distressed”.
“The committee discovered that the quantity of concrete was in doubt because there was no bond between the concrete and the steel reinforcement.
“The slab reinforcement anchorage provided was inadequate, and the sizes of the footing (foundation) provided were less than the required number of 1200 mm x 1200 mm,”he said.
Duna said that the mandate of the committee which was approved by the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, was to uncover the causes and identity those responsible for the defect in the structure.
The director general added that the committee’s preliminary report was based on the evidences gathered through interviews with eye witnesses and experts.
He added that the committee’s further findings would be crucial toward averting building collapse in future.
Duna assured Nigerians that the institute will leave no stone unturned toward ensuring that those responsible for the collapse of the school building were brought to book.