The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NIBRRI) are partnering with the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN) to address engineering failures across the country.
The collaboration aims to strengthen the investigation of building collapses, infrastructure failures and other engineering-related incidents through professional training, forensic investigations and improved accountability.
The announcement was made during the induction of the first group of Certified Forensic Engineering Failure Investigators in Abuja. The event brought attention to the human, economic and institutional consequences of engineering failures in Nigeria.
According to a statement from the organisations, the partnership comes as concerns continue over the causes of building collapses, defective construction, poor supervision and other failures affecting the built environment.
Engineering Failures Extend Beyond Damaged Structures
Speaking at the induction ceremony, the President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria, Dr Iliyasu Gashinbaki, said engineering failures often have consequences beyond damaged buildings, machines or infrastructure projects.
He explained that such incidents could result in loss of life, waste of public resources, safety concerns and reduced public confidence in institutions.
Gashinbaki identified several possible causes of engineering failures, including defective designs, substandard construction materials, negligent workmanship, inadequate supervision and breaches of safety standards.
He also warned that some incidents classified as technical failures could involve deeper problems, such as fraud, procurement abuse, falsified records, conflicts of interest and deliberate disregard for engineering controls.
According to him, these possibilities make it necessary to investigate failures carefully rather than treating them only as technical problems requiring repairs.
For Nigeria’s construction industry, this approach could help establish whether a failure resulted from design defects, poor execution, inadequate oversight or possible misconduct.
It could also provide evidence for determining responsibility where negligence or deliberate wrongdoing is suspected.
Building Collapse Figures Highlight the Challenge
Gashinbaki cited findings from a 2026 engineering study to illustrate the scale of building collapse incidents in Nigeria.
According to the study, researchers validated 111 building collapses recorded between 2015 and 2025. These incidents resulted in 321 deaths and 344 injuries.
The figures represent an average of approximately 32 deaths and 34 injuries annually within the dataset.
The reported figures highlight the risks associated with building failures and the importance of identifying their underlying causes.
For property developers, contractors, building professionals and prospective property owners, building safety remains a critical concern. Failures can destroy investments, disrupt communities and expose occupants and neighbouring properties to danger.
Gashinbaki also drew attention to losses from fire incidents.
He said a recent analysis of documented incidents between 2022 and 2025 estimated that at least ₦4.6 trillion worth of goods, properties and business assets had been destroyed.
The estimated losses amount to approximately ₦1.15 trillion annually within the dataset.
He described the human and economic costs of engineering and infrastructure failures as too significant for Nigeria to depend mainly on investigations conducted after incidents occur.
He argued that the country needed stronger systems for establishing what went wrong, preserving evidence and ensuring accountability.
Partnership to Strengthen Forensic Investigations
Gashinbaki said the collaboration involving COREN and NIBRRI was timely because investigating engineering failures requires expertise from several professional fields.
These include engineering, forensic science, law, regulation and investigation.
Forensic engineering involves examining failed structures, systems or equipment to establish the causes and circumstances of failure. Depending on the incident, investigations may involve technical inspections, material assessments, document reviews and evidence preservation.
Gashinbaki urged regulators, project owners, contractors, professional bodies and law-enforcement agencies to move away from an approach in which engineering failures end with repairs, abandoned projects or silence.
Instead, he called for evidence-based accountability.
He said properly conducted forensic investigations could preserve technical evidence needed to support regulatory action and lawful enforcement where negligence, fraud, malpractice or deliberate safety breaches were suspected.
This process could help investigators distinguish between accidental failures and incidents involving professional misconduct or other forms of wrongdoing.
However, the statement did not outline specific enforcement procedures or penalties that would result from the new collaboration.
Gashinbaki described the initiative as the beginning of a closer working relationship between engineering professionals, forensic investigators, regulators and law-enforcement agencies.
He said the intended benefits included safer infrastructure, stronger institutions, better management of public resources and greater protection of human life.
COREN Calls for More Trained Investigators
In his remarks, COREN President, Professor Sadiq Abubakar, said the collaboration with CIFCFIN was designed to equip engineers with two complementary areas of expertise.
These are technical engineering knowledge and forensic investigation skills.
Abubakar described the initiative as an important development for Nigeria’s engineering profession. He said it would help address longstanding gaps in the investigation of failures, particularly within the construction industry and the wider built environment.
He called for the training of a substantial number of professionally qualified forensic engineering investigators who could support investigations into infrastructure failures across the country.
According to him, building a larger pool of trained specialists would strengthen the country’s ability to examine engineering incidents and establish their causes.
Such expertise could also help regulators and relevant authorities make decisions based on technical evidence rather than assumptions about how a failure occurred.
Abubakar added that forensic engineering should not be restricted to buildings and construction projects.
He identified mining, oil and gas, telecommunications, transportation, aviation and aerospace as other sectors where certified engineering failure investigators could make important contributions.
These industries depend on complex engineering systems, and failures can affect public safety, business operations and essential services.
He expressed hope that the partnership would continue to grow and expand, strengthening engineering regulation and professional capacity in Nigeria.
He also said the long-term objective was to develop internationally recognised forensic engineering professionals capable of working in Nigeria and other countries.
CIFCFIN’s Establishment and Professional Mandate
The Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria was established under the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2022.
According to the report, its mandate covers professional training, supervision and the regulation of multidisciplinary forensic and fraud-investigation practice.
The induction of the inaugural cohort of Certified Forensic Engineering Failure Investigators represents an effort to apply forensic investigation skills to engineering-related incidents.
The partnership brings together professional engineering regulation, building and road research, and forensic investigation.
However, its practical impact will depend on the quality of training, cooperation among participating institutions and the effective use of investigation findings.
For Nigeria’s real estate and construction sectors, the initiative highlights the importance of professional competence, adequate supervision, sound engineering practices and accountability when failures occur.
Ultimately, the organisations are seeking to strengthen how engineering failures are investigated and help ensure that incidents provide evidence for corrective action, rather than ending without clear explanations or responsibility.