Uyo church building collapsed during praise and worship – Survivor

 A survivor from the Akwa Ibom church building collapse said a lady had just been called for praise and worship when the incident happened
            
                She said the congregation were singing and dancing had just begun when the building caved in
She also said an iron fell on her back and she landed on the ground.

A survivor said a lady had just been called for praise and worship when the building collapsed
A survivor from the Friday, December 9, Akwa Ibom church building collapse has give a detail account of how the incident occurred.
Eno Etim, who spoke to Punch at the St. Luke’s General Hospital, Annua in Uyo, said a lady had just been called to lead in the praise and worship session when building collapsed.
She said after as the lady led the congregation into the worship session, singing and dancing had just begun when the building caved in.
Etim, a resident from Oron said she does not worship at the Reigners Bible Church International Inc. in Uyo.
Eno Etim (left) and Emem Akpanitiat at the St. Luke’s General Hospital, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state
The survivor said she had only come to witness the consecration of the pastor of the church, Akam Weeks, as a Bishop.
“I don’t worship in the church. I worship in the United Intercessors Network, which Bishop Akan Weeks also belong to. I don’t live in Uyo. I came all the way from Oron,” Etim said.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Over 160 reportedly die as Gov Udom escapes death as church building collapses in Uyo
Narrating the incident, Etim said no one expected that such a building will collapse.
Etim said: “The iron fell on my back forcing me to fall on the ground with my face down.”
She was however moved to the University of Uyo teaching hospital for proper care and treatment.
Meanwhile, Etims niece Nkoyo Okon, said she received a call from an unknown person that her aunt was at the hospital.
Okon said: “I knew she went to the church. But she later called me on the phone to tell me she had been taken to Annua hospital. So, I had to rush down here. I’m grateful to God she is alive.”
Also, an another survivor, a 22-year-old Emen Akpanitiat, said after the Akwa Ibom state governor Emmanuel Udom came into the church, the congregation embarked on a praise and worship.
She said the building collapsed immediately the people were dancing – in preparation for offering.
“It was when the governor came and people started dancing. I’m in pains. The doctor said I’m going to be moved to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital,” Okon said.
“I was inside the church. Everything was normal; there was no problem. A lady was called to lead the praise worship session; the governor came in shortly after that. As the praise worship was going on, the building fell and I didn’t know how I got here,” she said.
Also, Okon’s sister said her entire family is grateful to God for her survival.
The state governor narrowly escaped death on Friday, December 9, after the building of Reigners Bible Church collapsed in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
The governor said he assisted the rescue team in ensuring that victims were freed from the debris.

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The Ekiti State Police command said on Monday that it rescued three persons abducted at different locations.

A statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Alberto Adeyemi, said two of the victims, Lola Akintunwa and a driver, Soji Jegede, were rescued from kidnappers along Igbara Odo-Ogotun road on Friday.
According to Mr. Adeyemi, Ms. Lola was abducted at about 5.15 p.m. along the same route on November 30, while Mr. Jegede was kidnapped at about 7.15p.m. on Friday.
He said both were rescued unhurt without the payment of a ransom.

“The duo had been reunited with members of their respective families. Investigation is in progress and efforts are being intensified to arrest the kidnappers,” he said.

Mr. Adeyemi said the third victim, Adeyomoye Alabi, lives at Adehun Street, Ado-Ekiti, and was kidnapped at her home on November 25 at about 8.30p.m. and taken to an unknown destination.
He said due to the “proactive” actions taken of the police, she was rescued and re-united with her family.

“She was rescued by a team of Police Detectives at Lazora area opposite Fayose market Ajilosun Ado-Ekiti. Efforts are on to arrest her abductors and I want to assure that the case is thoroughly being investigated,” he said.

The police spokesman appealed to those traveling on roads at this yuletide to be wary of the activities of kidnappers on the highway, and advised motorists to be vigilant and security conscious.
Mr. Adeyemi urged the public to give information to the police on any member of the public suspected to be engaging in criminal activities.

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A senior strategist with Dangote Industries Limited, Istifanus Bello Gurama, who was reportedly kidnapped three weeks ago, has been murdered.

Reliable sources say Gurama’s body was found in the gutter, adding that one of the kidnappers must have alerted a member of the public to where the body was.
Gurama was believed to have been kidnapped three weeks ago but news of his murder got to his family members (today) Monday.
Sources close to him told our correspondent that as a senior strategist, Gurama was in charge of negotiations and handing ransom payment to kidnappers whenever any of the expatriates in Dangote Industries was kidnapped.
The day Gurama was allegedly kidnapped, he was said to have gone, as usual, to negotiate and pay ransom money for the release of one of the expatriates. However, on getting there, the kidnappers reportedly said he was the one they were after and he was subsequently detained.
A close friend who refused to be named said Gurama showed him some of the videos of his negotiations with kidnappers.
During a visit to her on Monday, Gurama‘s wife of 20 years, Amina, was inconsolable.
She lamented, “Gurama was a lovely person, if he is not in the house one day, the children will be asking after him endlessly.
“Now, I do not know what to tell the children because he is always chatting with them on social media and phone and for three weeks since his disappearance, they have been wondering where he was because all his activities on social media ceased and the children have observed that it is quite unlike him.”
A key source in the Dangote Industries who confirmed the kidnap however reacted to the news of Gurama’s murder with surprise.
When contacted, the Head, Media of the firm, Mr. Tony Chiejina who said Gurama was very close to him, also reacted with surprise to the news of his death.
He informed our correspondent that he will make some calls and get back to her.
But he has yet to do that as at the time of going to the press.

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The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday announced an increment to the death insurance benefit for police officers who die in active service in the state to N10 million.

He said that his administration would stop at nothing to ensure the safety of all citizens in the state.
Governor Ambode,
               Who spoke at Lagos House in Ikeja, after he was presented with two awards recently won in South Africa by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the State Police Command, said security and safety of the people remains one of the focal objectives of his administration, and that government would continually embrace measures to motivate and encourage officers of the command to perform their duties diligently.
The RRS, at the awards presented by Security Watch Africa (SWA), had emerged as the best anti-crime police squad in West Africa, while the RRS Commander, Olatunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, won the award of most outstanding police operational officer in Africa.
The state government also bagged award as the best security and most safety conscious state in Africa.
Speaking after receiving the awards, Governor Ambode congratulated the commander and men of the RRS for the feat, saying that the people of the state were appreciative of the gallant efforts of the unit at bringing down crime rate in the state, especially in the last one year.
The Governor also commended the State’s Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, for his purposeful leadership of the command, saying that it was evident that the police in Lagos was performing creditably well.
While alluding to the need for increment in the death insurance benefit of officers, Governor Ambode recalled the recent loss of some officers in active service, adding that while government was not praying for the re-occurrence of such, it was appropriate to reasonably reward the family of any officer in the event of eventual death.
The Governor therefore said his administration was raising the stake of death insurance policy from N1million to rank and file and N2million to senior officers to N10 million.
He said: “Recently, we lost some police officer due to no fault of theirs and then some form of accidental incidences across the state.
“I have directed the State’s Pension Office and the Office of the Chief of Staff that we are going to increase the payment that we make to officers that die in active service and then we are increasing that irrespective of whether you are a junior or senior office, if you die in active service, the payment that will be made by the state government is being increased to N10 million from this moment onward,” he said.
As one of the ways of appreciating and motivating the command, Governor Ambode also presented additional three patrol vehicles and 45 power bikes to the RRS.
The Governor, while reiterating the commitment of the state government to the security and wellbeing of residents, also directed the police to ensure hitch-free yuletide celebration across the State.
He said the government, by the donation, was also sending a strong signal to those who are always willing to disturb the peace that there is no room for them in the state.
Responding to the gesture, the RRS Commander, Olatunji Disu, said the equipment given to them by the state government would further spur them to give their best towards protecting the lives and property of residents.

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