COREN, NIBRRI STRENGTHEN EFFORTS TO PREVENT ENGINEERING FAILURES

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute have partnered with the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria to improve the investigation of engineering failures across the country.

The partnership was announced during the induction of the inaugural cohort of Certified Forensic Engineering Failure Investigators in Abuja.

The initiative is aimed at combining engineering expertise with forensic investigation, regulation and law enforcement to identify the causes of infrastructure failures and strengthen accountability.

CIFCFIN President, Iliyasu Gashinbaki, said engineering failures could result from defective designs, poor-quality materials, inadequate supervision, negligent workmanship and breaches of safety standards. He added that some cases could also involve fraud, procurement abuse or falsification.

Gashinbaki cited a 2026 engineering study which identified 111 validated building collapses between 2015 and 2025, resulting in 321 deaths and 344 injuries within the dataset.

COREN President, Sadiq Abubakar, said the partnership would help equip engineers with forensic investigation skills and address gaps in the investigation of engineering failures, particularly in the construction sector.

He said the application of forensic engineering should also cover mining, oil and gas, telecommunications, transportation, aviation and aerospace.

Abubakar called for the development of more professionally trained forensic engineering investigators to strengthen engineering regulation, professional practice and public safety in Nigeria.