Owner of collapsed Melcom shop building turns himself in to BNI

Owner of collapsed Melcom shop building turns himself in to BNI

Nana Boadu

The owner of the collapsed Melcom shop building at Achimota Wednesday has turned himself in to Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

Nana Kwesi Boadu reported himself to the national investigative body Friday morning after the authorities indicated he was wanted for questioning.

Deputy Information Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa confirmed this to Joy News.

He said the suspect had a lot of questions to answer and that he would not be surprised if Nana Boadu is detained for a long time.

Over a dozen people have been pulled out of the rubble dead in a disaster the authorities say resulted from negligence.

Seventy others have been rescued some with serious injuries.

Experts have blamed the collapse of the structure on shoddy works and a failure to comply with the building regulations by the owner, Nana Boadu.

Officials of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly also claim the owner did not obtain permit before embarking on the construction works, an claim he flatly rejected.

Speaking on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” programme on Friday, Nana Boadu Nkansah Ayeboafo, who is also chief of Kumasi Nsima in the Ashanti region, denied claims that he had no permit before putting up the building.

He said he had documentation to back his claim, including fees paid for the processing of the document which he is prepared to produce to the police.

Nana Boadu who is a contractor, disclosed that he once visited the shop and noticed heavy appliances were being carried to the top floor which he cautioned them against but no one listened to him.

He declared his willingness to bear the cost of investigations into the cause of the collapse of the building, in order to establish the facts.