Six people were injured when a two-storey building under construction collapsed in Jikwoyi, Abuja Municipal Area Council, around 11 a.m. on Friday. The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department (FEMD) confirmed that 17 workers were on the upper floor at the time of the incident. Five were injured, while one man on the ground floor was trapped but later rescued. All were taken to Sisters of Nativity Hospital in Jikwoyi, where they are receiving treatment.
FEMD spokesperson Nkechi Isa said rescue operations continued until "ground zero" to ensure no one remained trapped. Emergency teams including the National Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Fire Service, and FCT Police Command responded to the scene. The Engineering Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority and the Department of Development Control were also involved in the response.
On the same day, a fire broke out at Car Earloha Chery Centre along Kubwa Expressway in Bwari Area Council at about 12 noon. FEMD's Head of Search and Rescue, Monday Adie, confirmed no fatalities. Staff evacuated vehicles before the blaze consumed a section of the building, destroying equipment and documents. Authorities attributed the fire to an electrical fault.
Another building collapse in Abuja, and once again, workers bear the cost. With 17 on the upper floor during construction, questions linger over why safety standards are routinely ignored. FEMD's presence at two major incidents in one day shows response systems are active, but enforcement before disaster strikes remains weak. For ordinary Nigerians, the risk of being injured in preventable structural failures is becoming routine.
