Students Injured in Abuja At GSS Building Collapse

Eight Senior Secondary School, SSS 3, female students of the Government Secondary School (GSS) Nyanya, Abuja, were critically injured when a section of the balcony of one of the storey buildings collapsed.

The incident occurred around 8 a.m. on September 27, 2013, Friday, when the students were moving into the classrooms.

The injured students mostly with broken limbs were taken to Nyanya General Hospital by the Principal of the school, Mrs. Ngozi Eze and other management staff of the school.

One of the injured had a broken neck and another was seen with serious injury to her mouth was said to have fallen head down lost about half her teeth.

One of the SSS 3 students (name withheld) who survived the disaster said the collapse was so sudden than it was only the male students that retreated, while the female student were paralysed with shock and could not move before the balcony gave way.

“Two of my class mates (males) jumped down but were unhurt but eight girls came down with the balcony and we saw blood all over them before they were taken to Nyanya General Hospital,” the student said.

The Nurse in charge of treating the students was heard discussing with a male doctor on how to refer some of the injured to the Maitama General Hospital for surgical operation.

The school authorities have been uncooperative with giving information.

Later the authorites have issued a press release, according to that the FCT Administration has sealed-off a one-storey block of classrooms at the Government Secondary School, Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja.

The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed (CON) gave this directive on Friday in Nyanya, while inspecting the site, and also ordered to investigate the accident further to identify the cause.

The Principal of the School, Mrs. Ngozi Ezeh during the inspection remarked that students were leaning on the hand railing of the cantilevered canopy above the main entrance measuring 1.2x1.5m when it gave way.

The Minister immediately visited Maitama District Hospital where the students that sustained injuries were taken to for immediate medical attention.

At the hospital, Senator Mohammed instructed the Education Secretariat to foot all the medical bills of the injured students and that the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital should give the students special attention.