Lagos State Government has filed a preliminary objection to a suit by two structural engineers indicted in the six-storey Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building collapse.
The engineers are praying the Federal High Court in Lagos to quash the coroner’s verdict which found them culpable.
Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun filed two suits numbered FHC/L/CS/1095/15 and FHC/L/CS/1096/15 against the Lagos Commissioner of Police, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the state Attorney-General and the Alimosho District Coroner Mr Oyetade Komolafe.
They are challenging the July 8 inquest verdict on the death of 116 persons in the building crash which indicted Ogundeji and Fatiregun of criminal negligence and recommended them for criminal prosecution.
Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had said government would implement the coroner’s verdict including filing criminal charges against the church.
Yesterday, Lagos Solicitor-General Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN) informed Justice Mohammed Idris of the notice of preliminary objection by the police, Attorney-General and Komolafe.
The objection is on the ground that the applicants’ main complaint is not for enforcement of their fundamental human rights but to challenge the Coroner’s verdict.
The state said the respondents are not Federal Government agencies, therefore, their action or decisions are not subject to the court’s jurisdiction in the circumstances of the case.
Lagos said the engineers’ application “is a gross abuse of court process.”
The respondents said if the court critically examines the applicants’ reliefs, it would see that they are seeking a determination of the Coroner’s verdict’s validity.
The respondents said the alleged potential breach of the applicants’ fundamental right is not the main complaint before the court.
Besides, the contended that the plaintiffs’ filing of the suit by way of fundamental rights application is fundamentally wrong and therefore the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it.
Also, they said there is no evidence to show that the applicants’ rights are likely to be breached by the Coroner’s verdict.
“The inquest is only to determine the number of fatalities, place of death, the cause and manner of death of the persons that died in the incident.
“The Coroner did not issue any judicial indictment but a recommendation that the applicant be investigated based on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or criminal negligence.
“Therefore, the right of the applicants to fair hearing, liberty or dignity was not breached in any respect,” the defendants said.
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that “the findings and recommendations of the fourth respondent (Komolafe) as contained in his verdict dated 8th July, 2015 as they relate to the applicants’ indictment for prosecution for criminal negligence and recommendation for prosecution for criminal negligence by the first to third respondents are invalid, null and void and of no effect, whatsoever.”
Their lawyer Olalekan Ojo urged the court to protect the engineers, saying the police had been after them since the verdict was delivered.
Yesterday, counsel for COREN, L.O Karim, said he needed time to respond to the suit as he had just been briefed.
Pedro and Ojo did not object to his request for an adjournment.
Justice Idris adjourned to September 30.