22 dead 154 rescued
Editor.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sympathised with victims of the Plateau building collapse and labelled it as a “huge loss to the nation”.
While consoling the victims and the people of Plateau State over the incident, Tinubu’s spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said his principal received the news of the tragedy “with profound grief”.
“President Tinubu describes the unfortunate incident as a huge loss to the nation, as well as a devastating development – too excruciating to imagine,” Ajuri said in a late Friday statement.
“The President condoles with the bereaved families, families of all the victims, and the people and Government of Plateau State.”
Tinubu lauded emergency responders like the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), security agencies, and everyone involved in the search, rescue, and resuscitation efforts.
Meanwhile the Plateau State Commissioner for Information and Communication Musa Ashoms said “As of 6:00 pm, 154 people have been rescued from the debris. Sadly, 22 individuals have been confirmed deceased,” the statement read.
“Injured students and staff are receiving medical treatment at various hospitals across Jos.”
Ashoms had earlier visited the scene of the collapsed two-storey structure and said while the school had a population of 400 students, the section that was affected had about 200 persons.
He said emergency workers took the survivors to hospital.
“To ensure prompt medical attention, the government has directed all major hospitals in Jos to prioritize treatment of the victims, regardless of documentation or payment,” the commissioner said.
“Governor Barrister Mutfwang has specifically instructed these hospitals to accommodate all those Nigeria affected by the collapse.”
Ashom lamented that the collapsed structure did not meet the standards for buildings and warned schools that have similar structures to shut down.
“You can see that it is by the river bank and, from your eye evaluation, you know that it is not a very strong structure,” he said.
“We are calling on other schools that didn’t follow plans that have similar issues to close down in the interest of our state in the interest of our people, because we have established a committee to go around,” the commissioner said.
