Punishment awaits the owner and developer of the uncompleted three-storey building located at Road 2 Junction, Low-Cost Housing Estate, Umuahia, the Abia State capital, which reportedly collapsed about 3 a.m. on Saturday, 25 July, 2025, if investigation finds them culpable and liable.

There was no loss of human lives during the incident, but two occupants of a nearby bungalow who sustained injuries and are hospitalized, with a baby, are being treated.

General Manager of Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA), Mr. Kingsley Agomoh, who announced this while inspecting the collapsed building premises that house two other uncompleted three-storey buildings, said that the state government will quickly investigate the cause of the collapse and thereafter take necessary decision/action.

The UCDA General Manager said that the investigation will include conducting integrity tests on the other two three-storey buildings within the premises.

“This is to ascertain the cause of the building collapse, after which the appropriate punishment will be meted out to the owner and other culprits in line with the extant law.”

It was, however, gathered that work on the building was stopped more than ten years ago, when some defects appeared, prompting the owner/developer to ‘mark’ it for demolition or needful amendment.

A security man guarding the premises, Mr. Babayu Adamu, said the collapsed building had been roofed and that despite signs of defects on it in the past, there were no recent ones noticed before the Saturday collapse.

An occupant of the bungalow near the collapsed building, Mr. Ugwumba Shedrack, who corroborated that the incident occurred about 3 a.m. on Saturday, alleged that the building belonged to a top state politician who is not a member of the state ruling Labour Party.