Two young men died while evacuating sewage from a three-storey building in Aba, Abia State, after the ladder they were using broke, causing them to fall back into the pit. The tragic incident occurred on Sunday night at No. 10 Powerline off Omuna Road around midnight. The victims, who had been hired by tenants of the building, arrived with ladders and buckets to manually remove waste when the accident happened. Their deaths have sparked outrage and led to the arrest of some of the building’s tenants by police authorities.
The two workers were engaged in manual sewage evacuation, a practice strongly discouraged by environmental agencies due to its high risk. According to reports, the ladder snapped during their work, sending both men plummeting back into the sewage pit. They were unable to survive the fall and subsequent exposure to toxic gases. Emergency responders later recovered their bodies and transported them to a nearby mortuary for postmortem examination.
In response to the tragedy, the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), specifically the Aba zone, immediately sealed the three-storey building to prevent further incidents and allow for a thorough investigation. Okezie Ezengwa, Deputy General Manager of ASEPA Aba zone, confirmed the incident and expressed deep sorrow over the loss of the two youths. He emphasized that such accidents are preventable and blamed the situation on careless practices and poor environmental management.
Ezengwa stressed that there are approved vendors and modern methods available for sewage evacuation, questioning why anyone would resort to using ladders and buckets to scoop waste into public drains. “We have been preaching against the use of this manual technique,” he said. “There are safer, regulated alternatives — why take such unnecessary risks?” He called for stricter enforcement of environmental safety regulations and greater public awareness.
The sealing of the building has disrupted activities for residents and tenants, as authorities continue to assess the site. Police investigations are ongoing to determine if negligence or other legal violations contributed to the deaths. The arrested tenants are being questioned about their role in hiring unqualified workers for hazardous tasks without proper safety measures.
This incident highlights the dangers faced by informal workers in Nigeria who often lack protective gear and training. It also underscores the urgent need for better regulation and enforcement of health and safety standards in urban sanitation. As the community mourns the loss of two young lives, calls are growing for systemic change to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
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