From Femi Oladele, Ado Ekiti
No fewer than four people lost their lives and seven others were injured when a mosque collapsed on worshipers on Friday in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The incident occurred at about 4 pm when Muslim worshipers were observing their evening prayer.
According to an eyewitness, the worshipers were in the second Sujud Prayer when, suddenly, the affected portion of the mosque collapsed on those sitting directly at the section.
The eyewitness explained that the victims were covered by the debris from the mud (some parts of the wall were built with mud) which had been in existence for the past 150 years.
Meanwhile, the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Nuhu Bamali, has expressed shock over the incident and prayed for the repose of the souls of those that died.
The Emir in an audio interview granted in the Hausa language, said they had earlier observed a crack on the wall of the mosque on Thursday.
According to him, they were making arrangements for the repair before Friday’s incident.
He, however, directed all worshipers to pray outside the mosque pending when the repair work is carried out.
The incident is the latest in building collapse across the country. While experts have repeatedly blamed them on poor building materials and unprofessionalism among others, the cause of the most recent incident is yet to be known.
