A coroner's court set up
to inquire into the cause of a fatal building collapse at the Synagogue
Church of All Nations (SCOAN) two weeks ago in Lagos commenced sitting
today.
The coroner, Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, pointed out that the
inquest would not operate like a normal court. He said the inquest is
not to prosecute anyone for culpability, but rather to determine how the
collapse happened, towards preventing a recurrence in future.
He stressed that no one would be blamed for the avoidable collapse
and death of scores people in the faulty construction, even as he
emphasized that the inquest was not inaugurated for any prosecution.
Regarding modalities for calling of witnesses, he announced that all
evidence must be front-loaded for all counsels to familiarize with its
facts before witnesses would be asked questions regarding evidence they
prepared.
Meanwhile, SCOAN has assigned two armies of counsels to protect its
interests at the inquest. The first is led by a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, Lateef Fagbemi, who persistently argued against the inquest's
mission to visit the scene of collapse. Shortly after Fagbemi had
introduced himself, another lawyer appeared, identifying that his
master, Ebun Adegboruwa, was briefed by the Church to appear for it at
the inquest.
The counsels argued that the Church is a corporate entity and is at
liberty to nominate who would represent it, apparently moving to guard
against the possible invitation to the head of SCOAN, Prophet T.B.
Joshua, to testify on the collapse of the building.
When the coroner called on all interested parties, there was no
representation from any family of the deceased victims in the Synagogue
Church building collapse. Instead, the court was stormed by supporters
of the Prophet Joshua, including persons living with disability who said
they are beneficiaries of his generosity at his Church. A widely-known
musician, T-Mac, was also at the court in solidarity with Prophet
Joshua.
Apart from the Lagos State Government's legal representation, the Red
Cross Organization and men of the Lagos State Traffic Management
Authority (LASTMA) were also present at the inquest. The coroner also
encouraged representatives from South Africa and other countries who may
have suffered loss of their citizens in the fatal Synagogue Church
building collapse to attend the inquest and help with useful information
at their disposal.
After arguments by counsels to the Church failed, the coroner
announced that all parties to the inquest, including the media, would
visit the site of collapse on Thursday. Witnesses will begin sharing
their evidences on 27th of October.
10:35 AM
Abiodun Noibi
Clem Oyeka, Nollywood actor
According to sources, the armed robbers succeeded in killing the officer
manning the police escort, while one of the armed robbers was said to
have been shot by the officer.
