Human rights lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu has impressed on government to adequately compensate the families of six kindergarten pupils who died when their school building collapsed on them on Tuesday.

Mr Sosu, who expressed heartbreak at the accident, said nothing could replace the lives that have been lost but government must do the honourable thing to ease the pain of the affected families.

The deceased children, whose ages range from three to five, died after the dilapidated structure caved in on them while school was in session at Breman Jamra in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa district of the Central Region.

Three other children who survived are receiving treatment at the hospital.

Mr Sosu, speaking to Moro Awudu on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 1 February, said: “The school as a facility owes a duty to the children and clearly that duty was negligently breached not only by the school but the state as an entity to protect these children in that facility.”

“The state has the ultimate duty to compensate for the loss of lives of these children,” Mr Sosu said, adding that it was the duty of the District Assembly to ensure the building was safe for use.

For him, government must not wait for any legal action but should be proactive and show empathy with the bereaved families and also ensure that officials who are responsible for the safety of the facility are sanctioned.