TB Joshua Synagogue: Coroner begins inquest, seeks S’Africa’s cooperation

 

The coroner investigating the cause of the Synagogue building collapse in Lagos has called for the cooperation of the South African Embassy in unravelling the cause of the accident.

The coroner, Magistrate A.O. Komolafe, made the call on Monday at the court’s inaugural sitting in Ikeja.

Komolafe said that the cooperation of the SA embassy would facilitate identification of the corpses, especially the South Africans that were killed in the September 12 building collapse.

He added that it was only after proper identification of the corpses that they could be released to their relatives.

He said, “I want to seize this opportunity to state the importance of the DNA to this inquest.

“The medical team and pathologists are working because the court has directed them to carry out the activities and report back.

“It is important for the South African embassy to ensure that relatives of the victims come forward for the pathologists to get the needed samples to compare with the bodies.

“Those corpses have to be properly identified and when that is done and the process completed, the bodies will be released to the South African government and they can take them home.”

Komolafe said the mission of the coroner was not to convict anyone but to identify the cause of the building collapse in order to forestall a future recurrence of the incident.

He called on the listed witnesses to ensure appearance, adding that the coroner would not hesitate to invoke its power against any of the witnesses who failed to show up.

He said, “We categorically assure that there is no adversary. We are not accusing the Synagogue Church of All Nations, no. That is not why we are here.”

He added that the coroner would visit the site of the accident on Thursday during which a meeting would also be held with the church.

He urged the church to make available its CCTV, which he said would help the court in its findings.

The coroner said, “The court is looking at Thursday this week when all of us will visit the site of the collapsed building and we want to address the Synagogue Church of All Nations.

“Please make available your CCTV to the court. The clips; we want to see it because as big as the church is I want to believe that they have CCTV. So we want to see what actually happened.”

At the Monday sitting, SCOAN was represented by its lawyer, L.O. Fagbemi (SAN); Lagos State Government was also represented by its lawyer, Akingbola Adeniran and the Nigerian Police represented by Chukwu Agwu.

Other organisations in attendance were the Lagos State Traffic Management Authorities and the Red Cross Society.

Meanwhile, people with disabilities under the auspices of the Disabled Welfare Organisation also thronged the coroner’s court on Monday.

The disabled persons, who stood outside the courtroom, carried placards with different inscriptions.

Their National Coordinator, Gbolahan Jonah, said his members were in court to express their concern over the incident and to stand by Pastor T.B. Joshua as he faced the coroner.

Some of the inscriptions read, “Temper justice with mercy on Prophet T.B. Joshua,” “Free Prophet T.B. Joshua, CCTV footage can’t tell lies, please investigate” and “Why targeting foreigners?”

Also, the Coalition of Christian Youth Groups in Nigeria has called for a thorough investigation into the collapsed building at the SCOAN.

The youth group at a press conference in Osogbo, Osun State, on Monday said that they learnt from investigation that the hostel did not collapse but was demolished.

The National President of the group, Mr. Seyi Bamidele, said that it was curious that the building collapsed some moments after an aircraft hovered on it at a low altitude.

He said that the close circuit camera of the church captured the aircraft and its strange movement on the building.

He said, “Another strange occurrence is that upon visitation to the site of the collapsed building, except for supporting pillars, no traces of floor slabs were found in the debris. All vanished with the collapse. This is peculiar to buildings that are controlled-demolished.

“Apart from the aircraft, The oral testimony of a loud bang reminiscent of a bombing scene was heard before the collapse.

“The CCTV footage of the incident showed a clear-cut proof of controlled demolition. The controlled demolition of the Bank of Industry building on Lagos Island should still be fresh in the minds of those of us who were physically present or watched it via electronic media.

“The demolition of the BOI building portrays a close semblance to that of the SCOAN guest house building.”

Bamidele said that some of the detractors of Prophet T.B Joshua had started using the sad incident to tarnish his image.