Gyang Bere, Jos

Survivors of the building collapse that occurred at Butcher Line in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State last week have been recounting their horrifying stories. They said they stood face-to-face with death before they were miraculously rescued. 

Among the occupants of the structure, 12 persons were reported dead, with only a few surviving. Some had said their last prayers waiting to die until help came their way.

A 15-year-old boy, Kamis Kabiru Nalele was among the lucky survivors. He said he thought the end had come when the storey-building collapsed on him and was buried in the rubble.

Kamis was on the ground floor working with his father, Kabiru Lawal Nalele who was trying to fix a door in the ill-fated building. His sister, Amina, a pregnant woman, was selling drugs on the same floor when the incident occurred.

He recalled that they had no inkling that the building was going to collapse. He informed that they suddenly heard a very loud sound, and the next thing was that the entire three-storey building came crashing on them.

Kamis, his father and sister, it was learnt, were buried in the rubble for four hours. They did not die immediately, as sympathizers were battling to save their lives before officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) arrived at the scene.

According to Kamis, immediately the building collapsed, he went blank but regained consciousness after some time. He said he heard his father and sister groaning in pain, but there was nothing he could do.

He said: “The building trapped me with my father and sister, Amina, who was pregnant with twins on the ground floor. Luckily for me, I went blank, but after some hours I regained consciousness and heard my father and sister groaning in pain.

“They were crying for help, and already, their intestines had come out because the building had trapped them. But they were still alive, crying for help, but help did not come their way in time.

“I was also trapped. The place was very dark, like a grave. It was a very horrible experience. I never knew that I would be rescued alive. I was there for four hours, making calls with those outside on how to save our lives. But my father and sister died before they could remove the debris that buried us.”

Kamis came out without any injuries. His survival was a miracle to him, his family and the emergency team that rescued him.

Another survivor, Abdulkabire Useni recalled that he was in a room on the last floor with Amina, the wife of Abdulrahman Kabiru Nalele. He said they suddenly saw sand falling on them, but the thought that the building was going to collapse did not come to their minds. He noted that he suddenly heard a very loud sound. And then, he went blank.

He woke up to discover that the building had collapsed on them. He said people were crying in the background even as planks from the roof and the ceiling had covered the victims.

Abdulkabire said he struggled and found his way out and then called on the rescue team to remove Amina from the debris. They were both rescued.

Amina was full of praises to God for saving her life. She said: “I saw sand falling on me in the room and after some time, I saw the building moving.

“We were shouting for help without knowing that the pillars of the house had collapsed from the ground floor. It was the roof of the house that covered me, but the place was hot and there was nothing I could do.

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“The planks trapped me on the ground and people were crying in the back. I had said my last prayers, waiting to die but help suddenly came my way. People removed the planks and ceiling that covered me, and I came out alive. I only sustained minor injuries and was treated and discharged from the hospital.”

Her husband, Abdulrahman was very lucky. But his elder brother, Rufai, lost his wife and two children in the collapsed building.

Abdulrahman, who has been a resident of the house for almost three years, was in his pharmacy when his attention was drawn to the incident. He said his family lost eight people, including two children.

Abdulrahman is worried that most of his father’s building in Jos city have been marked for demolition by the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB).

One of the buildings was demolished four days after his father died in the collapsed building. He appealed to the board to temper justice with mercy by doing the right thing and not demolishing structures that are not supposed to be demolished.

“We are sad over the incident. We have lost lives and huge resources. But this morning, JMDB demolished one of our buildings. They have marked some others for demolition, I appeal to them to temper justice with mercy. Structures that are sound should not be demolished.”

Acting General Manager of JMDB, Kefas John Yilrwarg said the board had commenced the demolition of all defective structures in Jos.

He noted that the board had already earmarked several defective buildings and those that were constructed without the services of professionals for demolition. He said such buildings did not secure the approval of the board.

His words: “The demolition is actually an ongoing exercise, because last week, we carried out demolitions around Katako area and in other parts of Jos City.

“The reason for this demolition is that if you don’t have an approval to erect your building, then the law requires that we serve you a notice so that you can comply. And if you refuse, then the law allows us to demolish the building.

“The structure we demolished today, we did not just wake up and demolished it. We have served them notices and marked the structure. But they ignored us. That was why we demolished it.

“That structure is defective. In fact, parts of it have collapsed. That was why we demolished it to avoid the repeat of what happened few days ago. I appeal to the public to give us the necessary cooperation to enable us do our job to save lives.”

Chairman of the Plateau State All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Advisory Council, Captain Joseph Din (rtd) led some Plateau elders, including Ambassador Ibrahim Kasai, Pam Dung Gyang, Suma’ila Makama and Ambassador Wuyep, on a condolence visit to the family of late Alhaji Kabiru Lawal Nalele, who died in the incident with his children.

He said the incident was sad, shocking and unfortunate, as the deceased landlord lost eight family members.

He said: “The elders of Plateau APC Advisory Council want to condole with the families who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate incident.

“The incident is very sad and there is nothing we can do. The families should take heart. God will console them. The damage is too much.”