Jos building collapse: Mutfwang orders immediate closure of Saints Academy as death toll stands at 22, declares a 3-day state mourning
By Agada Daniel, Jos
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang has ordered the closure of Saints Academy school with immediate effect barely 24 hours after structure collapsed.
Recall on Friday morning a two storey building of Saints academy in Busa buje community, Jos North local government area, Plateau state collapsed and trapped students and teachers inside the building.
Our correspondent reports that the death toll stands at 22 and 132 survivors were receiving treatment at various hospitals in the state.
Governor Mutfwang on Saturday morning took an under spot assessment of the structure and thereafter visited victims at the hospitals.
While extended his heartfelt condolence to the parents who lost their children, Mutfwang assured that government will settled all the medical bills of those affected by the unfortunate incident.
He appreciates citizens, security personnel and other stakeholders resilience who swung into action and rescued victims.
He also lamented that “I am not a technical person but all I can see on this debris is sand. As a layman, I know that there needs to be a proper mixture of sand and cement. What I can see here is pure sand. And so we have endangered the lives of innocent children for no reason…
“It is not all the time that we spend time praying against demons and Satan.This is human negligence. We don’t need to shy away from this reality.
“At this point, we cannot allow this school to function. For the parents who still have children in this school, it’s unfortunate what has happened. But of course what it means is that this school is closed down immediately.”
Governor Mutfwang further revealed government readiness to set up a technical committee to audit all the private and public schools in the state.
“We can’t take any further chances. And we need to send this message, particularly to owners of private schools. The motive for profit must not overshadow the safety of lives. And so we are going to take steps immediately to do a technical audit of all the schools. We’re going to test their structural integrity to ensure that they can be able to stand and human beings can inhabit such buildings.
“So, by the grace of God, we’re going to set up a very high-powered committee to investigate this incident. And anyone found culpable will certainly face the wrath of the law. We cannot afford this situation any longer. we signed Executive Order 003 to be able to bring order and sanity into the built environment.”
Governor Mutfwang gave matching order to security personnel to henceforth arrest anyone caught doing illegal mining within Jos city center.
He equally warned citizens who built their homes within a riverbank to evacuate with immediate effect before government clamp down on them.
However, the Plateau State government have declared a three day of mourning for the children who lost their lives in a school building collapsed.
During this time, all flags will be flown at half mask to honor the victims.
Our correspondent learned that over 58 survivors remain hospitalized, while 74 persons has been treated and discharged at the forth various tertiary hospitals in the state.
