Update: Coroner's Court calls for Prosecution Of Synagogue, Contractors Over Building Collapse
The Lagos State Corner, Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe yesterday called for the investigate and prosecute of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) over its failure to secure the necessary permit and approval before commencing the construction of the collapsed structure.
The Coroner also recommended that the contractors, Oladele Ogundele and Akinbela Fatiregun, who were in charged of the construction of the collapsed building be investigated and prosecuted for criminal negligence by the relevant authority.
Magistrate Komolafe further asked relevant authorities to carry out detailed "fitness for habitation test" on all the structures/building withing the premises of the church.
The Coroner in its verdict also held that the building collapsed due to structural failure caused by the combination of designs, detailing errors and foundation fuilure.
He also concluded that the death of the 116 victims of the collapse was consistent with blunt force trauma that would normally be sustained from a collapsed building.
According to the coroner the victims are made up of 60 males, and 56 females; among whom was a boy aged 6 years and that 6 bodies are yet to be identified
He also stated that 85 of the victims are of South African origin while others are 22 Nigerians, 2 Benenois and 1 Togolses.
It will be recalled that the Lagos State Government had set up the Inquest under the state Coroner’s System Law No.7 of 2007 to investigate the cause and circumstances resulting in the death of 116 people, mostly foreigners.
However, in spite of repeated summons issued on him by the Coroner the founder of the church, Prophet Temitope Joshua refused to appear before the inquest.
Joshua instead of appearing to testify before the inquest had gone before the Lagos State High Court to challenged the jurisdiction of the Coroner's Court to conduct the investigation and to summon him.
He had also urged the court to declare that the Coroner had exceeded the jurisdiction of a coroner's court by delving into areas that were beyond its scope.
Alhough his application was dismissed by Justice Lateefa Okunnu for lack of merit, Joshua had further ran to the Court of Appeal to overturn the high court decision.
Joshua, had initially linked the tragedy to a strange aircraft wandering above the building shortly before it fell.
A video which was released by the church on the social media platforms showed the plane allegedly hovering around the six storey building which served as a guest house for foreign worshippers, before its collapse .
However in it verdict, Magistrate Komolafe dismissed the suggestion holding that there is no evidence before the court to support the claim.
Magistrate Komolafe also called for the transfer of the Divisional Police Officer, Ikotun Police Station, CSP Haruna Alaba from the Division for unprofessional conduct.
He recommended that government agencies responsible for monitoring and inspection at very stage of construction should be alive to their responsibility and vigilant.
The Coroner also urged the government in the alternative to outsourced the function of monitoring and inspection to competent professional body that will detect violation of building laws and regulations early before any failure.
Magistrate Komolafe further called on government to get rid of corruption, including issuance of fake receipt and greasing of palms during inspection on construction works on site.
He also asked government, NGO and other ancillary bodies to educate and sensitizing the public on the need to always allow the Statutory/First Responders perform their duties during rescue operation/emergency cases and not take over the duties.
The Coroner further recommended that government should make it mandatory for professional involved in the design and supervision of major structural building construction to have professional indemnity.
A total of 32 witnesses testified while 45 exhibits were tendered doing the proceedings.
While adopting his final address, counsel to SCOAN, Olalekan Ojo maintained that external forces remains a responsible cause of the building collapse.
Ojo cited the testimony of a 37-year-old graduate of Chemistry from the University of Maiduguri, Mr. Biedomo Iguniewe, who had suggested that the building may have collapsed due to infrasonic radiation, Ojo said Biedomo's evidence was never contradicted.
The lawyer also argued that the non existence of a building plan for the collapsed building as alluded to by the Lagos State Government has nothing to do with the structure of the building which he insisted was built according to standard.
He further submitted that the contract for the collapsed building was proper contracted to competent engineers and if anyone must be questioned for the building collapse, it should be the engineers and not the Synagogue church.
Ojo advised the Lagos State Government to take appropriate steps to regularise the building construction and approval applications shown to be pending with the relevant state agencies.
However, the Lagos State Government in it own submission stated that the inquest must be guided by section 40 of the coroners law which bestows on it the role to find out who the deceased are, when and how they died.
The government noted that since the issue of who the deceased are and when they died had been resolved by the pathological report prepared by the state chief medical director, Prof John Obafunwa, the inquest must only concern itself with how they died.
The state pointed out that in finding how the deceased died, its postulated four issues which the quest should resolve in its favour: They include: lack of access to the collapse building site, illegality in the construction of the building, alleged sabotage and structural defect.
The government urged the inquest to resolve the issues in the interest of justice using the body of evidence and testimonies of witnesses and experts which were unchallenged.
