IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

WORLD JOURNAL OF INNOVATION AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY (WJIMT )

E-ISSN 2504-4766
P-ISSN 2682-5910
VOL. 9 NO. 2 2025
DOI: 10.56201/wjimt.v9.no2.2025.pg1.21

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Building Collapse in Abuja and Lagos Between 1984 and 2023: Assessing Structural Vulnerabilities to Prevent Reoccurrence

Usenobong Donatus Ekponyoh, Williams Kennedy George, Edwin Raphael Etuk, Emmanuel Sunday Elijah, Awi Dennis Kabari

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Abstract

This study collects, collate, tabulate and analysed reported cases of structural failures leading to building collapses in Abuja and Lagos between 1984 and 2023. Four research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The population of the study consisted of 417 Engineers comprising of 184 in Abuja and 233 in Lagos State chapter duly registered with the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). The research employed purposive sampling technique to select 30 Civil Engineers from Abuja and Lagos State respectively. A 30-item questionnaire consisting of three sections and 5-point rating scale used for data collection was faced validated by three experts. Cronbach alpha statistics was used to determine the reliability coefficient of the instrument which yielded overall reliability index of 0.89 comprising of 0.91 and 0.87 for Section B and C respectively indicating that the instrument was reliable. Frequency, Percentage, Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions while the hypotheses were tested with independence t-test at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that Abuja has 9 cases of building collapse and 114 numbers of lives lost while Lagos has 108 cases of building collapse and 460 numbers of lives lost. This implies that Lagos State has the highest numbers of building collapse and lives lost between 1984 and 2023. Furthermore, result of the study revealed that lack of monitoring, use of quacks and unapproved plan, inadequate site investigation and appropriate material tests among others were the causes of building collapse in Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria between 1984 and 2023. From the findings of the study, the researchers recommended that adequate monitoring of building construction, use of professionals and approved plan, adequate site investigation and appropriate material tests, prosecution of offender(s) among others as strategies to effectively mitigate incessant bu

keywords:

Building Collapse, Nigeria, Structural Failure, Causes, Remedy, Construction

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