A PRELIMINARY investigation into the Saint Academy School building collapse in the Busa Buji area of Jos, Plateau State, in North Central Nigeria, has shown that the structure was defective.
The two-storey building housing Saint Academy, located at the Busa Buji community in the Jos North Local Government Area of the state, collapsed on Friday at about 8:30 am, claimed 22 persons and left about 154 trapped persons who were evacuated to various hospitals.
The Director General of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), Samson Duna, at a press briefing on Tuesday in Jos, said there were several defects on the building as identified by preliminary investigations from the team formed by the Federal Government.
NBRRI was mandated to constitute a panel to look into the remote and immediate cause of the building collapse and make recommendations in line with the mandate of the institute.
Duna identified the dangers inherent in building collapses, causes, consequences and prevention strategies using a multi-faceted framework.
The report also said the slab reinforcement anchorage provided for the structure was inadequate.
“The committee has commenced its investigation. Preliminary investigation revealed that the physical observation of the building looks distressed.
“The quality of concrete is in doubt because there was no boundary between the concrete and the steel reinforcement. The slab reinforcement anchorage provided was inadequate. The sizes of the footing (foundation) provided were lesser than the required number (1200 mm X 1200mm).
“A comprehensive report on the investigation will be presented after the investigation,” he said.
Prof Duna enjoined the government and other professional bodies in the construction industry to insist on integrity tests on all distressed buildings, especially those around the collapsed building site.
A ten-man panel headed by Prof Fedrick Job of the Building Department at the University of Jos has one month to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the school building collapse.
