By PHILIP YATAI

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has ordered the arrest and prosecution of the owner of the two-storey building that collapsed on Friday in Jikwoyi, Abuja.

Wike, who gave the order after he inspected the site in Abuja on Monday, also announced the revocation of the 2,500 square meters land allocated to the owner.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-storey building for a hotel was under construction when it collapsed, leaving several workers injured.

The Minister, who thanked God that no life was lost, said that the owner was constructing the building with no approval from Development Control.

He added that despite the notice of discontinuance from development control, the owner went ahead with the construction.

“The first thing to note is that there was no approval for the construction of this building.

“Since there was no formal approval, and nobody knows the quality of material they were using for the construction, the government will immediately take over this plot of land

“We will then find out from the community what they will want the government to build for them for public use.

“The owner, and whoever is involved will be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.

He advised land owners to always follow procedures by getting the necessary approvals before embarking on any building construction.

“We have always said that people should go through the simple process – go to development control department and get approval.

“Let the department know what you intend to build, what the quality of materials is, and then they will supervise you from one stage to the other.

“But of course, they will ignore it, and this is the situation we find ourselves in.

“Sometimes buildings spring up in the early hours. The simple thing is to go and get approval, so that development control will know what you intend to do and the quality of material that you want to use,” he said.

Wike said that the FCT Administration would not hesitate to bring down any building that has no approval.

“Anybody building without development control’s approval, we will bring the building down.

“To forestall future incidents, Development Control will continue to do its job.

“Anywhere you see a building without approval, don’t only serve notices, bring the building to save lives,” Wike directed development control. (NAN)

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