A Coroner yesterday indicted the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) for the collapse of its guest house on September 12, last year.
He ordered that the church “be investigated and proceeded against, under the law, by the relevant authority for not possessing necessary building permits”.
Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe recommended that Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun of Hard Rock Construction Company Limited, which handled the project, be investigated and tried for criminal negligence.
In a 98-minute verdict, Komolafe identified “foundation failure as the remote cause of the collapsed building.
He also identified “structural failure due to a combination of designs and detailing errors as cause of the building collapse”.
Chief Magistrate Komolafe directed that a detailed “fitness for habitation test” be done on the remaining structures/buildings on SCOAN premises on Segun Irefin Street, Ikotun, Lagos.
He dismissed the claims of the church and its witnesses that an aircraft which hovered over the building with infra-sonic sound caused the building to collapse.
The aircraft, he said, was not the cause of the building collapse.
He linked the cause of the victims’ death “to be consistent with the blunt force trauma that would normally be sustained from a collapsed building”.
Chief Magistrate Komolafe confirmed that 116 persons died in the incident and called out the name of each victim and the specific cause of death.
He said 110 of the victims were identified while six are yet to be identified. The victims are 60 men and 56 women.
Eighty-five of the victims were South Africans; 22 Nigerians; two Benioise and one Togolese.
Chief Magistrate Komolafe said in arriving in his verdict, he relied on the evidence of some medical expert, including foremost pathologist Prof. John Obafuwa, other professionals and interested parties.
The coroner said he took evidence from 32 witnesses and admitted 45 exhibits.
According to him, the victims died of haemorrhage, loss of limbs, crushed bones, multiple rib fracture, perforated lungs, destruction of the left tibia vessels, suffocation and chest wounds .
He called for the transfer of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Haruna Alab, a Chief Superintendent (CDP) from Ikotun Police Station for for not being alive to his responsibilities.
Alaba, in his testimony, said he was unaware of the aircraft alleged to have hovered over the collapsed building.
He said he was informed of the building collapse by somebody who phoned the station. The coroner advised government agencies responsible for “monitoring and inspection” to be alive to their responsibilities and be vigilant at every stage of construction.
Alternatively he suggested that the function of “monitoring and inspection” be outsourced to a competent professional body that will detect violation of building law and regulations early before any failure.
He advised such agencies to rid themselves of corruption, including issuance of fake receipts and “greasing of palms”.
According to him, statutory/first responders popularly known as rescuers should be adequately equipped to perform their functions effectively and efficiently.
Chief Magistrate Komolafe advised government to reduce cost of obtaining building permits and approval and remove all administrative bottlenecks in order to encourage individuals and organisations to go through the due process of obtaining such documents before they start building.
He urged government to make it mandatory for professionals involved in the design and supervision of major structural building constructions to have indemnity.
Government, he said, must take steps to secure and preserve the site of any collapse building so as not to compromise investigation on the site.
The coroner implored individuals and organisations to obtain building permits before starting their building, adding that they should also engage qualified and competent engineers and consultants for the job.
He urged government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other ancillary bodies to educate the public on the need to always allow statutory and first responders perform their duties during rescue operations and emergency cases without hindrance.
The Coroner’s Inquest, was set up by Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice under the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law No. 7 of 2007 to investigate the cause and circumstances of several deaths that followed the collapse.
The law gave the Coroner court the powers of a magistrate’s court to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses, including medical examiners, and require them to give evidence, produce documents or present other relevant materials.
The law also requires the verdict of a Coroner as certified in writing to be forwarded to the Attorney General. Such verdict may form the basis of criminal prosecutions depending on the evidence collected.
South Africa last night hailed the verdict, saying: “Government notes the ruling that the Synagogue Church of all Nations must be investigated and prosecuted for negligence.”
Acting South African cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams, in a statement, said she hoped the verdict would bring closure to the families who lost loved ones.
