Abuja, Oct 29 (IANS): At least seven bodies were recovered from rubble after a partly demolished building collapsed in a suburban area of the Nigerian capital of Abuja on the weekend, authorities said.

Abdulrahman Mohammed, head of the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department, told Xinhua on Monday that the building, which had earlier been partly demolished by Nigerian authorities, collapsed in Sabon-Lugbe, a suburb of Abuja, on Saturday when a group of suspected scavengers entered the site, pulling down and carting away iron rods.

"This activity by the suspected scavengers triggered the remains of the demolished slab to fall on them," Mohammed said, adding that two injured people were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.

Cases of building collapse are not uncommon in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, often leading to heavy casualties. Nigeria registered at least 135 building collapse incidents between 2022 and 2024, according to a report by the country's Building Collapse Prevention Guild in July.