•Scene of the incident
A tragic construction accident at the site of the new Gombe State House of Assembly Complex has left one worker dead and seven others injured.
The incident, which occurred yesterday, involved the sudden collapse of a section of a cantilevered entrance canopy currently under construction, reports Channels TV.
The Gombe State Ministry of Works, Housing, and Transportation confirmed the casualties in an official statement issued by the Permanent Secretary, Danladi Adamu.
According to the ministry, emergency protocols were activated immediately following the collapse to rescue trapped workers.
Of the seven injured labourers evacuated from the debris, five are currently receiving emergency treatment at the Gombe State Specialist Hospital, while the remaining two are being treated at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Gombe. Officials have not yet released the identities of the victims or the deceased.
Reacting to the incident, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased worker and ordered that the state pick up the full medical bills for all hospitalised survivors.
The governor has directed the Ministry of Works, alongside emergency and engineering regulatory agencies, to launch an immediate investigation into the structural failure.
In a swift accountability move, the state government has issued a strict ultimatum to the handlers of the project.
This will be followed by a Preliminary Investigation Report and a subsequent comprehensive technical review detailing exactly what went wrong.
The entrance canopy involved in the collapse was a cantilevered design — a structure anchored at only one end, which requires precise engineering and load calculation during construction.
While the exact cause of the failure remains unknown, the state government emphasized that it will not shield anyone found guilty of negligence or using substandard materials.
“The Gombe State government remains firmly committed to ensuring strict compliance with safety, quality, and engineering standards in the execution of all public infrastructure projects,” Adamu stated, adding that appropriate punitive or corrective measures will be enforced strictly in line with the final investigative findings.
Construction at the multi-million naira assembly complex site has been temporarily halted in the affected zone as technical teams begin analysing the structural debris.
