At least 22 people, including students, have been confirmed dead after the Saints Academy two-storey school building collapsed in Busa Buji, Jos.
A section of the school building which carries more than a thousand students, collapsed on Friday shortly after students, aged 15 or younger, arrived for classes for their exams, the Plateau state authorities said on Saturday.
An injured student Wulliya Ibrahim told AFP: “I entered the class not more than five minutes, when I heard a sound, and the next thing is I found myself here.”
Rescue workers had tried to rescue victims from the rubble, using heavy machinery as scared residents watched frantically and helplessly at the site; though some offered to help in whatever way; using hammers and their bare hands.
According to police spokesman Alfred Alabo, 132 students had been rescued and were being treated in various hospitals across the town.
“To ensure prompt medical attention, the government has instructed hospitals to prioritize treatment without documentation or payment,” Plateau state’s commissioner for information, Musa Ashoms, said in a statement after the disaster.
Alabo per The Associated Press said 22 students were confirmed dead though earlier reports by Nigerian media outlets reported 16.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has reported in a Facebook post that rescue operation had ended and the site cleared, while 30 people remain in hospital.
The Plateau state government faulted the school’s “weak structure and location near a riverbank” as being responsible for the collapse and ordered schools under similar conditions to shut down as soon as possible.
Reacting to the tragedy, Unicef Nigeria representative Cristian Munduate wrote on X.
“Children full of dreams were writing exams when the school building collapsed. Deepest condolences to families affected.”
Building collapses are becoming common across Nigeria with more than a dozen incidents recorded in the last two years.
