A Dunamis Church located at Mission Ward North Bank in Makurdi, the Benue State capital has collapsed.
According to reports, the event, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, killed a pastor when the building collapsed in.
According to sources four individuals including the pastor were observing prayers at the church building before the incident occurred.
The other three individuals escaped the wreckage.
Residential buildings and electricity infrastructure around the building were affected by the collapse.
The cause of the incident is however unclear.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Benue State Police Command, Anene Sewuese Catherine, said she is not aware of the incident.
However, police operatives from the C Division, North Bank, are already on the ground as emergency officials were on their way to the scene of the collapsed building.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Governor Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia has vowed to hold the church officials and the supervising ministry – which allowed the structural contravention of erecting the structure – responsible for the incident.
Governor Alia made this known during his visit to the collapsed building premises where he ordered the evacuation of all those living in the adjourning buildings and along the waterways.
This is to avoid multiple casualties as parts of the church auditorium still hang in the balance.
On its part, the Council for the Regulation of Engineers (COREN) led by Engineer Terna Mom told Channels Television that preliminary investigation indicates that the construction work lacks engineering design.
According to him, the structure does not meet the requirements of metal roofing as used by those who built the auditorium.
Witnesses however said that the church located at Mission Ward North Bank in Makurdi, held a service on Monday night and that the pastor was left behind with few others who were praying.
“Following the rainfall afterwards, they couldn’t leave back to their homes so they continued in their prayers when suddenly the church building collapsed at about 3am today (Tuesday) and killed the pastor,” a witness simply identified as Kole narrated.
A resident of the area said four persons who were praying alongside the deceased pastor sustained injuries and have been taken to the hospital.
The resident said the pastor whose name he declined to mention hailed from the eastern part of Kogi state and married to an Akwa Ibom woman.
