NBRRI Sets Up Investigative Committee to Tackle Building Collapse
As the number of death in the collapsed 21-storey building under construction in Lagos state continued to increase, the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) has set up an investigative committee to ascertain the immediate and remote cause(s) of the monumental national catastrophe, to forestall future occurrence.
NBRRI, which is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (FMST&I), conducts applied integrated R&D into the various aspects of the Nigerian construction industry and builds capacity in indigenous construction technology.
Explaining why the investigative committee is been setup, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NBRRI, Engr. Prof. Samson Duna, in a statement, said that the exercise is designed to provide a ‘case-history based technical report that is enshrined in scientific and/or engineering principles to provide new knowledge and information to forestall future occurrence.
He explained further that the assignment is neither a probe nor an investigation of persons or organizations, adding that the aim is to let Nigerians know that the collapse of the 21-storey building, in which many persons have been confirmed dead, is of grievous concern to the Institute.
He explained that in pursuant of its mandate, NBRRI has continued to intervene in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy over the years in engineering challenges in buildings, roads and construction materials.
“In fact, with our interventions over the years, we were of the opinion that building collapse phenomenon was becoming a solved problem with the reduction of collapses over the years.
“Accordingly and in line with routine procedure in the Institute, an investigative committee comprising of Lagos-based professionals and stakeholders in the built environment has been set up with specific terms of reference to ascertain the immediate and remote cause(s) of this monumental national catastrophe.
“The building collapse team from NBRRI’s National Laboratory Complex, Ota, Ogun State, led by the Institute’s Head of Building Research Department, Dr. Nurain A. Sulymon has visited the site to collect samples, which will be subjected to thorough laboratory investigations/analysis.
“The assignment is neither a probe nor an investigation of persons or organizations. Rather, as an established practice in NBRRI, the exercise is designed to provide a ‘case-history’ based technical report that is enshrined in scientific and/or engineering principles to provide new knowledge and information to forestall future occurrence.
“Arising from the above and in order to reawaken the danger these collapses pose for both human and materials resources the Institute is making arrangements to organize a One-Day Summit to discuss the effects of these collapses, reappraise our intervention-efforts and evaluate the roles of stakeholders in curbing the incidences of building collapse in the country.
