It is no longer news that the Governor of Akwa Ibom state would have been a dead man yesterday if not for the grace of God.
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state
Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, yesterday, escaped unhurt as the building of the Reigner’s Bible Church International in Uyo, during a worship session.
The governor, who was the special guest of honour at the consecration service of the church’s founder, Apostle Akan Weeks, as a bishop.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the church’s building, situated along Uyo Village Road, was not completed when its iron rafters caved in the course of the service.
‘’When we were about taking offering, 30 minutes after the governor came in, the building caved in and security operatives took him away,’’ a witness said.
When NAN correspondents visited the scene, security operatives had cordoned off the entire building, as they tried to rescue those trapped in the debris.
Another witness, Miss Uduak Effiong, told NAN that a female victim’s bowel was ripped open by one of the metal rafts.
Effiong, who is a communication arts student of the University of Uyo, also dislcosed that she lost three friends to the incident.
Another witness of the mishap, Joseph James, told the NAN that Apostle Weeks was rescued unhurt.
Some rescue team members said that over 60 casualties had been removed from the debris.
However, the state Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Cordelia Nwawe, could not confirm the number of casualties, as, according to her, rescue operations were ongoing.
-NAN
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