Tag: Synagogue

The Coroner handling an inquest into the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building collapse that killed 116 persons at Ikotun, a Lagos suburb, yesterday pardoned witnesses who did not appear to give evidence, including Prophet Temitope B. Joshua.

Coroner Oyetade Komolafe arrived at his decision following the heavy rainfall earlier in the day, which hindered human and vehicular movement for several hours.

Joshua and the building contractor were among witnesses expected to give evidence but did not turn up at the proceeding which did not start until about 11am.

Komolafe said the witnesses who did not appear before the court challenged its authority, but were excused because of the “natural situation”

As the court was making the announcement of the witnesses’ pardon, the church’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, informed the court that both the prophet and contractor were yet to be served their witness summons.

Ojo, who said he did not want the court to be misled into believing that Prophet Joshua shunned the order to appear, stated that the witness summons was not served on the prophet personally as required by law.

“There is need to make certain clarifications and that is why I wish to inform this court that no witness summons has been served on Prophet T.B. Joshua. It was on Friday or Monday that the court Bailiff attempted to effect service on the prophet but unfortunately, he was not around.

“As the chief mourner, the prophet has been getting in touch with the affected families. I was informed that the Bailiff merely gave the summons to one of the evangelists or church workers and so, cannot depose to an affidavit that Prophet T.B. Joshua received the summons,” he said.

Arguing further, Ojo said the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2011 requires that a witness summons must be served on the witness personally, which has not been done.

Ojo also told the court that he does not think the contractor would have been served personally since the court does not know his name and address.

He undertook to provide the court the details of the contractor within 48 hours as well as ensure that the contractor appears at the appropriate time.

While insisting it was not quarrelling nor fighting anyone, Komolafe said the essence of service was to put it to the attention of the witness that his attention was needed in court.

The Coroner said under Order 5 of the Magistrate Civil Procedure Rules, 2009, in which the Coroner is empowered, the court can serve the church’s counsel if it was proved difficult to serve Prophet Joshua following his status.

But Ojo said that with witness summons being a criminal service which breach attracts penalty, the law does not allow such service on counsel.

In order not to prolong the matter since the day was far spent, the Coroner said the court would do the needful.

“We will do the needful but T.B. Joshua as the chief mourner must help the court to help him. We do not want to inflict more pain. A word is enough for the wise. He should help himself by not putting himself at variance with the law. Any prophet that claims to serve God should be obedient to the law of the land.”

Referring to the church’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Komolafe asked when Joshua would be around so that he could be served.

The CSO said he only sees the prophet when he is available, adding that “as a man of God, Prophet Joshua may go to the mountain at anytime and I won’t be able to see him.”

When asked how often Joshua goes to the mountain, the CSO said: “As the spirit leads”.

Komolafe said: “When will he come to preach in your church? Will he not be in your church on Sunday? Tell Prophet T.B. Joshua to let you know when he will be around or do you want me to ask the Ikotun DPO to lay siege to the place?

“Tell your prophet to come and show his face not the one on pictures. I do not want us to quarrel. I am doing all this so that at the end, everyone would have been satisfied we have done the needful.”

Earlier, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu said they were delayed access into the scene but were not stopped from working by church members.

He told the court that he was assaulted but only reported same to the Ikotun DPO who was on ground and the church’s CSO.

Osanyintolu told the court that from his observation, bodies recovered from the scene were not dismembered and unburnt.

He added that he was not surprised if Prof. John Obafunwa, the state’s Chief Medical Examiner (CME) stated the some bodies were disjointed.

He said they received a distress call at about 12.45pm on September 12 that a five-storey building collapsed but on getting to the scene, he observed it was a six-storey building.

Osanyintolu told the court that as at yesterday, the agency had not been able to get the exact time the building collapsed.

When asked on the contradictory statement he made as regards being in control of the scene and their inability to work effectively and efficiently, Osanyintolu said as a crisis manager, one of his duties during emergency is to calm tension of the public.

He stated that the police did not carry out their functions as expected because the crowd that was allowed in the scene of the mishap impeded their operation.

He said the dead bodies recovered from the scene were conveyed to the mortuary by members of State Emergency Monitoring Unit (SEMU) and members of the church.

Meanwhile, the physically challenged persons who had been carrying placards in defence of Joshua did not come  yesterday. But some youths wearing T-shirts bearing the inscription “Citizen Group” flooded the court premises.

Similarly, scores of SCOAN members and sympathisers occupied the court such that lawyers and other stakeholders could not find seats.

Due to the rowdy development in the courtroom because of the crowd, the Coroner threatened to bar them from entering the courtroom unless they coordinate themselves well.

The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday refused to grant an injunction suspending the inquest on the collapse of a building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Ikotun in Lagos.

The collapse, which occurred on September 12, resulted in the death of over 115 people, mostly South Africans.

Justice Ibrahim Buba held that there was no basis to restrain the District Coroner, Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, from continuing with the inquest.

A lawyer, Mr Olukoya Ogungbeje is seeking an order stopping further inquest on the incident.

Lagos State the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Adeola Ipaye and Mr Komolafe are the respondents.

The inquest was constituted on September 26 under the Coroner’s System Law No. 7 of 2007 to investigate the causes and circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Coroner, who began sitting on October 13, had visited locus in quo (scene of the event) and had summoned the church’s leader, T.B Joshua to appear before him today.

Ogungbeje’s lawyer, Mr Nelson Okedinachi had yesterday prayed Justice Buba to restrain the inquest from holding today, saying “heavens would fall” if the coroner sits, but state counsel, Mr Akinjide Bakare, opposed the application.

Ruling, Justice Buba said: “This court on Friday declined to grant an ex-parte application to restrain the coroner from sitting and directed that the respondents be put on notice and abridged the time for hearing this case. The respondents were indeed served.

“Now, counsel for Lagos State Government has appeared and sought for an adjournment to Thursday this week (tomorrow) to allow the respondents to react.

“However, learned counsel for the applicant wants an interim order restraining the coroner from inviting Prophet T. B. Joshua from appearing before him tomorrow (today).

“This court is not oblivious of the preamble of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules. However, Prophet Joshua is not a party in this application. He is not in detention.

“If someone else chose to fight his cause in the name of public litigation, then the court can only restrain a body on behalf of another on certain principles. Nothing has been said as to what will happen to the applicant tomorrow (today), but rather to Prophet Joshua who will appear before the Coroner.

“This court will always be guided by what is filed before it. If the application succeeds, the court can undo whatever is done. In this circumstance, the court will not restrain the Coroner’s inquest sitting tomorrow (today).

“The matter is adjourned till 6th of November 2014 for hearing of the fundamental rights enforcement proceedings filed by the applicant.”

Arguing that the inquest be suspended today until their case is heard tomorrow, Okedinachi said the Coroner could deliver his verdict before their suit is heard.

“I will not be surprised if the coroner delivers his verdict tomorrow (today). He is a party in this suit and it is an insult on the court for him to continue sitting. The essence of T.B. Joshua’s appearance is to conclude the inquest,” he said.

But opposed it, saying: “I don’t see how the heavens will fall or how the sitting of the coroner will affect the rights of Mr Ogungbeje.”

But the judge said since the applicant is not directly affected by the inquest, he would not restrain it from sitting.

“Show me what the Coroner wants to do to Ogungbeje….Why is T.B. Joshua not before me as an applicant? Is he detained? You must show me what will happen to Ogungbeje between now and Thursday,” he said.

Okedinachi insisted that in a fundamental rights suit, someone can sue on another person’s behalf.

Ogungbeje is contending that the composition of the inquest negates the principle of natural justice and Section 36 of the Constitution, and therefore should be declared unconstitutional and null and void.

He said the inquest started sitting after state agencies had indicted Joshua and his church for wrongdoing and after the officials had blamed the church for adding additional structures on the building without approval.

He argued that if allowed to continue, the inquest proceedings would occasion miscarriage of justice. According to him, the Coroner would base his decision on the testimonies of the same state officials who openly indicted Joshua and his church.

Ogungbeje said for instance, the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA), the Building Control Agency, the Fire Service, the Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) and others made public and prejudicial statements on  the cause of the building’s crash.

He said Joshua’s claim that an aircraft hovered over the building prior to its fall, and that it could have been sabotaged, was ignored.

“The Lagos State Building Control Agency even went ahead to seal up the main building of the church. The General Manager of the agency said in the papers and I quote him as follows: ‘We have investigated and found that they had no approval for the additional structures. Even the main church which they have added about three floors on was sealed two days ago,’” he said.

The lawyer is seeking an order nullifying the inquest proceedings so far, as well as a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from calling further witnesses.

He wants the court to stop them from sitting, investigating, embarking on fact-finding or taking any untoward action in any manner whatsoever on any facts connected to the case.

The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building that collapsed on September 12, killing 116 people as well as the additional three floors on the main church auditorium were not approved, the Coroner inquest heard yesterday.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde, made the disclosure while giving evidence before Coroner Oyetade Komolafe.

Ayinde, who told the court that the only approval in government’s records for SCOAN was that of the main auditorium dated January 26, 2004, however, maintained that three illegal floors had been added to the building which was approved to be five floors.

The commissioner told the court that of 42,358 electronic files that had approvals as far back as 1990, there was no approval for the collapsed building, making it an illegal construction.

Ayinde also said that from his observation during the visit of Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), the column for the additional floors on the main auditorium started midway.

“The approval given to the church was in the name of SCOAN dated January 26, 2004 and was for the main auditorium. The approval was for five floors, but at the site visit, I discovered the main auditorium has three additional floors, making eight. The collapsed building by the record of the Lagos State government had no approval,” said Ayinde.

According to him, the church did not reply to the state’s letter, demanding various documents and details, just as he stated that he was informed by his personnel that they were not allowed access the first day until he called the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Commander.

The commissioner told the court that after he was presented a copy of the CCTV footage, which they watched at the invitation of Prophet Temitope Joshua on September 14, the state sent a copy of the footage to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) demanding to know the aircraft that flew.

Ayinde also disclosed that the information provided by NAF, Air Force personnel were training and all aircraft were to fly at altitude of 1100 metres above ground level, which is about 119 floors.

“After watching the footage, we were given a copy by the Prophet. We made another copy of it and sent our officers to the site. We also sent a copy to the office of the Surveyor General to find out if they had record of the collapsed building site.

Under cross-examination by the church’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, Ayinde confirmed that the existence of an approval or permit had a bearing to the structural stability of a building.

He stated that even buildings with approvals sometimes collapse, noting that there is no scientific proof that a building will stand or fall if there is none.

The commissioner, who said the CCTV footage he watched at TB Joshua’s office showed the building fell symmetrically, later changed his position after watching the footage in court.

He stated that from the recording in court, which was his second time of watching the footage, the collapsed building did not fall at once.

Ayinde said: “I am not aware of any government assessment. An assessment is not a document of approval; it implies a building is deemed approvable. It is possible to have legal and illegal assessment. If there is no stamp or endorsement, it will be illegal. Lack of approval does not mean a structure is stable or unstable, unless there is a test. There is a condition for regularisation, if a building is approvable and capable of being regularised.

“During my visit at the scene on Sunday, not much work had been done and I saw five slabs standing, including ground zero. I do not have any competence to observe the building foundation, but I observed a few column points at ground zero. If there was uniform failure, I don’t know what part of a building that could stand. There can only be something standing, if there is a weaker side that collapsed.

“I observed there was pulverization from the CCTC footage, which is normal with any collapse. I did not see a hovering of aircraft. I saw uniform directional movement, which is justifiable because that area is a flight path. I cannot confirm it was the same aircraft. I saw four aircraft moving in the same pattern. I did not see any remarkable close movement of the aircraft to the collapsed building. I know as a designer that there is a flight corridor, which we make provisions for in designing. If the aircraft was flying low, its size would have been bigger than that. We determined the distance based on the co-ordinates given. I cannot determine the distance of any of the aircraft because I am not an authority in the field.” Contending the picture evidence presented by the church showing the closeness of the aircraft to the building as captured by the blackberry phone of one Shedreck, Ayinde said he did not agree that the picture was taken from ground zero.

The Surveyor General of Lagos State, Joseph Agbenla, also presented his evidence, while the South African government said it was still in talks with their lawyers and not ready to give evidence.

Also, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were also not taken on Thursday for want of time.

Meanwhile, there was a mild drama in the court as the coroner walked a lawyer, Nelson Okedinachi, out of the court room for disturbing proceedings.

The lawyer had come in while the court was in session to notify the coroner of a pending application before a Federal High Court challenging the Coroner Inquest.

As Ayinde was about being led in evidence, Okedinachi collected the microphone, announced himself and tried to state his reason. He, was, however, stopped by Komolafe who asked him to “go and do the needful.”

 His hesitance prompted the court to walk him out and the proceeding continued.

A Coronary Inquest into the building collapse at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) yesterday heard that the manifest of occupants had been filed.

The disclosure came 47 days after the incident occured, killing 116 people at the church’s headquarters in Ikotun, Lagos.

Issues surrounding the manifest had generated tension between the church and the Lagos State Chief Medical Examiner (CME) Prof. John Obafunwa, who on several occasions, alleged that the church refused to honour its request for the list to enable successful identification of the deceased.

At previous sittings of the Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe-led inquest, the court had emphasised the importance of the manifest to the process, directing the church to make same available to Obafunwa.

Led in cross-examination by one of the church’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, Obafunwa had insisted that the preliminary report already tendered and adopted before the court is a reflection of his position on the result of the autopsy carried out on the dead victims.

Obafunwa informed the coroner that three pathologists team were on September 22, 2014 set up by him, ten days after the incident occurred.

“I carried out my functions at the Mainland Hospital at Yaba. We started carrying out autopsy on the dead victims at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on September 23 and other locations on September 24, 2014.

“There is no way I can physically carryout autopsy on all the bodies. The bodies were embalmed immediately after they were deposited at the mortuary.

When asked when he first visited the scene of the disaster, Obafunwa said it was only on October 16 he visited, which was a guided tour.

“It is not my duty to take debris at the collapsed site. It was also not my duty to know whether there is any detonation at the site of the collapsed building.

Another witness, Ige Oladimeji, of the Nigerian Red Cross, said: “Synagogue provided ten ambulances to help evacuate casualties. In each of them, there were representatives of the church. Nobody prevented us from doing our job.

“Members of the church were so compassionate to ensure that lives were saved.

“On the second day of the incident, members of my team who worked round the clock confirmed to me that everything went well and more bodies were evacuated since I had left.”

The inquest continues today with the South African Ambassador, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) expected to give evidence.

Also the coroner rejected arguments from founder of the church, Prophet T.B. Joshua’s lawyers that the televangelist should not be summoned because he did not directly witness the September 12 tragedy.

“The court has the power to summon whoever it deems necessary to assist it

“The counsel should advise the Prophet to come. The church is not on trial. It’s not a matter of ego. Nobody is above the law. The court will be fair to all.

“If he is an institution with immunity, the court will not even go there. If the man refuses to come, he can be arrested… He has to appear. We summoned the Prophet. We summoned the contractors.”