Abuja Building Collapse: NEMA confirms one dead, residents say many buried, Osinbajo visits site (Photos)

One person was confirmed dead after a three-storey building under construction collapsed in the Jabi area of the Federal Capital Territory on Friday.

The National Emergency Management Agency only one person died in the building collapse, but residents say at least 10 persons remained under the rubble.

Punch had reported on Friday that 25 others were trapped. Rescue officials were said to have rescued about six persons while a corpse has been evacuated.

Earlier reports also said two people died but NEMA said that could not be confirmed.

At a press conference Saturday, Mustapha Maihaja, the director general of NEMA said besides the single fatality, one other person was critically injured and five others rescued alive at the site in Jabi, Abuja.

But residents rejected the claim, and complained about the rescue effort.

But multiple witnesses who spoke to Premium Times insisted that more than 10 people were trapped in the debris as at Saturday morning when rescue efforts ended.

On Friday evening, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo visited the scene and commended rescue efforts.

Osinbajo was accompanied by FCT minister Muhammad Bello and SGF Boss Mustapha.

Channels reports that Osinbajo, at the scene, said:

The collapse of this building is a very unfortunate incident. As you know, it was a building under construction. It appears to have collapsed a few hours ago.

The most important thing at the moment is that we have all of the relief, safety and emergency management agencies all here. NEMA is here, the FCT authorities are here, the Hon. Minister himself is here, the executive government is here.

So, the whole process of ensuring that those who may be trapped under this collapsed building are rescued is well underway. All of the emergency equipment, help movers and the equipment that are required, are here.

Osinbajo also shared on Twitter:

This evening, I visited the site of the building that collapsed in Abuja. My heart goes out to the family that lost someone today. There are no words to describe how you must be feeling. On behalf of this nation, please accept our sincere condolences.

To all of the people who were injured, we wish you speedy recovery. Thank you to officials of the FCT Fire Service and NEMA for conducting rescue operations quickly. Your actions saved lives today, thank you so very much.

See more photos below: