The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) have partnered with the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN) to tackle engineering failures in the country.

Speaking at the induction of the inaugural cohort of Certified Forensic Engineering Failure Investigators (CEFFI) in Abuja, President and Chairman, Governing Council of CIFCFIN, Dr Iliyasu Gashinbaki, said engineering failures could result in loss of lives, public resources, safety and institutional trust.

He attributed such failures to defective designs, substandard materials, negligent workmanship, inadequate supervision and compromised safety standards, noting that some technical failures could also be rooted in fraud, procurement abuse, falsification, conflict of interest and deliberate circumvention of engineering controls.

Gashinbaki cited a 2026 study that identified 111 validated building collapses in Nigeria between 2015 and 2025, resulting in 321 deaths and 344 injuries. He also cited an analysis estimating at least N4.6 trillion in losses from fire incidents between 2022 and 2025.

He said the figures underscored the need for Nigeria to move from reactive responses to evidence-based investigation of engineering and infrastructure failures.

Gashinbaki described the partnership with COREN and NBRRI as timely, saying the initiative brings together engineering, forensic science, law, regulation and investigation.

He urged regulators, project owners, contractors, professional bodies and law-enforcement agencies to replace a culture of repairs, abandonment and silence with evidence-based accountability.

Gashinbaki said forensic engineering could preserve technical evidence needed for regulatory and legal action where negligence, fraud, malpractice or deliberate compromise of safety was suspected.

In his remarks, COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, said the collaboration with CIFCFIN would equip engineers with dual competencies in engineering and forensic investigation.

He described the initiative as a significant step towards addressing gaps in the investigation of engineering failures, particularly in the construction and built environment sectors, and called for a critical mass of trained forensic engineering investigators.

Abubakar said the application of forensic engineering should extend beyond construction to mining, oil and gas, telecommunications, transportation, aviation and aerospace.

He said the goal was to develop internationally recognised forensic engineering professionals capable of working in Nigeria and globally.

He added that the partnership could strengthen engineering regulation and professional capacity.