A two-story building still under construction has collapsed at No. 20 Ozuitem Street, Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

The building, said to be owned by a “very wealthy” resident of Umuahia, collapsed on Christmas Day when the site workers had taken the day off.

The cause of the collapse has not yet been officially established, but some residents living near the building claimed that substandard materials may have been used by the contractor, which they alleged compromised the integrity of the structure.

A resident who pleaded anonymity thanked God for sparing the lives of the site workers, saying: “Yesterday was Christmas Day and there was no work. If not, who knows what would have happened?”

He said that the contractor had gone into hiding after realising what had happened to avoid being arrested or questioned.

When DAILY POST visited the site on Thursday afternoon, a bulldozer was demolishing the remaining parts of the building to ensure they did not collapse onto adjacent houses.

Messages boldly pasted around the site by the Umuahia Capital Development Authority, UCDA, dated December 26, 2024, declared that the site had been sealed.

When DAILY POST contacted the Public Relations Officer of the Umuahia Capital Development Authority, Mrs Nkeiru Ogba, she confirmed that her office had visited the site of the collapsed building to ascertain what had happened.

She said that the owners of some of the buildings that had collapsed in the state did not follow due process or had refused to comply with official regulations.

The police in Anambra State have recovered a vehicle belonging to Justice Azuka, the abducted member of the State House of Assembly.

The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Azuka was kidnapped on Tuesday night along Ugwunapampa Road in Onitsha North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The lawmaker, who represents Onitsha North State Constituency I in the state assembly, was returning home for Christmas celebration when he was kidnapped.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said police operatives attached to the Inland Town Division recovered the vehicle.

He said the vehicle’s recovery followed an “intense ongoing operation” to rescue the lawmaker.

The spokesperson said the police operatives sighted the vehicle which was abandoned at Upper Iweka Road, several kilometres from the scene of the attack.

He did not disclose the vehicle’s model, but a picture attached to his statement indicated that the recovered vehicle is a Ford SUV.

The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Nnaghe Obono, has charged the deployed police operatives to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted lawmaker, Mr Ikenga said.

Like other states in Nigeria’s south-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region.

However, the group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.

Simi Oluwaseyi, the sister of Queen Naomi, an estranged wife of Ooni of Ife, has shared an update regarding her sister’s arrest, raising concerns about her health

Naomi was remanded by a court of law in connection with a tragic stampede in Ibadan, which claimed the lives of 35 individuals.

In a series of Instagram posts, Similoluwa expressed heartfelt condolences to the grieving parents while drawing attention to her sister’s condition.

She disclosed that Naomi collapsed during her third day of questioning by the Department of State Services (DSS) and was subsequently hospitalized.

Similoluwa also revealed that before Naomi’s court appearance, a medical evaluation showed dangerously high blood pressure. She added that her sister had been denied access to her phone and family throughout her detention.

In her statement, she wrote, “I extend my deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased children. My sister endured over six days in detention, collapsing during interrogation on the third day and being rushed to the hospital.”