Sep 17 Building Collapse: Akwa Ibom Police Parade Site Engineer

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command yesterday paraded the one Felix Anietie Udoh, the site engineer who supervised the construction of a collapsed four-storey building located at No. 3 Imam Street, Behind Zenith Bank, Uyo, the state capital.

It would be recalled that on September 17, 2022, a four-storey building situated at No. 3 Iman Street, Behind Zenith Bank, Off Aka Road, Uyo, collapsed, destroying other buildings and property worth millions of naira, even as it led to the death of one Favour Chukwuemeka Okoro, a brother to one of the workers at the building site, while five others were rescued.

Speaking while parading the suspect along with others arrested for various crimes, including kidnapping and murder, at the state command headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, the Commissioner of Police, CP Olatoye Durusinmi, said the fake engineer, who is the proprietor of Felixzity High Technology Limited, was arrested by operatives of the Anti-robbery Squad of the command on August 7, 2023, while trying to flee the state.

The commissioner, who noted that the collapsed building led to the death of one Favour Chukwuemeka Okoro ‘m’, while five others were rescued, said the suspect and others would have their day in court.

His words: “Recall that on the 17th of September 2022, a four-story building situated at No. 3 Iman Street, behind Zenith Bank off Aka Road, Uyo collapsed, leading to the death of one Favour Chukwuemeka Okoro ‘m’, while five persons were rescued.

“The alleged site engineer, one Felix Anietie Udoh, of Felixzity High Technology Limited, fled. On August 8, 2023, the suspect was arrested by the Anti-Robbery Squad of the command.

“On interrogation, the suspect confessed not to be an engineer but a builder. The above suspect and others will have their day in court”, the commissioner stated.

The command also paraded three suspected child trafficking syndicate members arrested on August 9, 2023 and the stolen babies recovered by operatives of the Anti-Child Theft unit of the command.

According to the Police boss: “On the 9th of August, 2023, operatives of the Anti-Child Theft Command, in a rigorous investigation, arrested one Peace Patrick Paul, who deceived one Utibeabasi Monday Enang, both of Obot Akara LG Area, and stole her two children, aged three and five, in the month of May, 2023.

“The said Peace Patrick Paul sold the two children to one Mary Eunice in Aba, Abia State, who in turn sold them to one Bella Uko in Asaba, Delta State.

“Similarly, one Alayodi Paul Onyekwere of Abuloma, Rivers State, was arrested for stealing the 11-year-old daughter of one Emmanuel Macaulay Daniel of Ikot Ikot Village in Obot Akara Local Government Area.

“The suspect is alleged to have been sent by her grandmother to steal the child, which she led operatives to recover from Rivers State. The children are here today and will be reunited with their families. The command appreciates the collaboration of Yak Iyamma and the Arise the Frontline of Abolition of Trafficking in Person Project.”

The commissioner, however, assured the people of the state that the command would remain committed to the provision of top notch security in Akwa Ibom State and called on indigenes of the state to volunteer information that could lead to the arrest of criminal elements.