No casualties recorded as state govt seals building, evacuates students
ABAKALIKI — A three-story private student hostel, Pentagon Lodge, located in Izzangbo Ohankwu Village, near the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, has collapsed following a bout of continuous rainfall. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the incident.
Sources at the scene confirmed that a section of the building caved in, trapping students’ belongings in the rubble. No serious injuries were reported at the time of filing this report, though some students sustained minor distress due to the collapse.
In immediate response to the incident, the Ebonyi State Government has sealed the affected lodge and surrounding buildings, pending integrity tests to assess their structural soundness. The state also ordered the evacuation of all students residing within the premises to avert further risk.
The State Commissioner for Capital City Development, Chief Sunday Ekechi Inyima, who led a delegation to the site, directed the sealing of the property and urged swift action to investigate the structural failure.
He stated that the Ministry of Capital City Development, the Ministry of Human Capital Development, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the Ikwo Local Government Chairman, and the AE-FUNAI management are collaborating to provide temporary accommodation for displaced students until the completion of structural assessments.
Reacting to the incident, Vice-Chancellor of AE-FUNAI, Professor Sunday Elom, expressed concern over the rising number of substandard private buildings constructed without proper supervision.
“This unfortunate incident underscores the urgent need for strict enforcement of building regulations to ensure that only properly designed and supervised structures are approved for occupation, especially those housing students,” Elom said.
He commended the swift intervention of the state government and expressed gratitude to God that no lives were lost. He also sympathised with the affected students whose properties were trapped in the debris.
