Panels attribute foundational failure as cause of Onitsha school building collapse

By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha

The two panels set up to investigate the true cause of the sudden collapse of the Dennis Memorial Grammar School, (DMGS) Centenary Building, Onitsha, Anambra State, have finally made their independent findings public.

The Nations News Nigeria reports that the panels had in their separate reports said that the empirical cause of the building collapse was “FOUNDATION FAILURE due to POOR SOIL CONDITIONS that could not have been foreseen by the engineers or the statutory inspection”.

The panels had in their findings stated among other things, that the architectural and structural designs of the building were carried out by qualified professionals registered with their respective regulatory bodies in Nigeria .

The reports also assured that Soil Testing was done before the structural design and construction, and that approval was equally received from the Anambra State Physical Planning Board(ANSPPB).

In their estimations, the steel rods used in the construction underwent proper quality assurance testing at the Anambra State Materials Testing Laboratory, Awka.

The panels also reported that the construction was inspected at appropriate intervals by mandated regulatory authorities who deemed the work satisfied at the end, adding, “At no point during the construction stage were any negative queries raised nor work orders issued to stop work or effect any remedial corrections”.

It was equally observed from the findings of the panels that the post-disaster forensic testing “confirmed that the quality of the steel rods and concrete castings met the expected standards”.

In his response while receiving the reports, the Bishop of Niger, the Rt Rev Dr Owen Nwokolo, expressed profound gratitude for the work of the two panels.

“We are sincerely grateful

to the panels for their sacrifice and diligence in carrying out their tasks”, he said, hoping that DMGS would soon rise above the tragedy.

He prayed that the Old Boys of the school would also continue their efforts towards creating a lasting legacy for the centenary celebration.

Bishop Nwokolo consequently directed the school’s Centenary Committee to commence work on what he described as “This landmark Centenary Project”, while entreating the committee to diligently take “necessary steps in accordance withthe findings and recommendations of the two panels”.

The panels were separately set up by the Anambra State Government and the Nigerian Society of Engineers following the sudden collapse of the multiple-storey Centenary Building of the DMGS, Onitsha, in the early hours of June, 12, 2024.

The building collapse which furiously ignited various mind-blowing assumptions and conspiracy theories finally ebbed when the panels were set up.