Synagogue rejects coroner’s verdict on collapsed building

Synagogue Church
| credits: File copy

The Synagogue Church of All Nations has described as unreasonable the verdict of a Lagos coroner, Mr. Oyetade Komolafe, who called for its prosecution over the death of 116 persons in a collapsed six-storey building on its premises.

The September 12, 2014 tragic incident claimed the lives of 85 South Africans, 22 Nigerians, two Beninoise, one Togolese and six unidentified persons.

Komolafe, a magistrate given the mandate to unravel what led to the victims’ death, had in a verdict on Wednesday indicted SCOAN and the structural engineers that built the collapsed structure and called for their criminal prosecution.

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The coroner had held the engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, of HardRock Construction Company Limited, liable for “criminal negligence.”

He also recommended SCOAN for prosecution for embarking on a building construction without obtaining the “necessary permits.”

But in a statement on Thursday by its counsel, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, the church said it vehemently disagreed with Komolafe’s verdict that structural defect was responsible for the collapse of the six-storey building.

Ojo, who described Komolafe’s verdict as “unreasonable, one-sided and biased,” said the church maintained its stance that the building was sabotaged.

He described as unwarranted the call made by the coroner on the state to investigate and prosecute the church, saying that before the building collapsed, the process for its approval was in place while the amount payable for the permit had already been processed by the relevant government agencies.

According to the lawyer, the verdict of the coroner could not stand as long as he did not establish that the church hired unqualified or incompetent professionals to do the job or that substandard materials were used.

He also said there was no finding that connected the incident with the lack of a building permit.

The statement read partly, “The church disagrees most vehemently with the finding that the incident was due to structural failure.

“The church considers it strange that the coroner did not refer its verdict to the evidence of the COREN-registered structural engineer and contractor used by the church nor did it evaluate the conflicting evidence given by civil and structural engineers as to whether or not the incident was as a result of structural failure.

“It was a one-sided verdict which left many issues unaddressed and questions unanswered.

“The church disagrees with the findings concerning the aircraft that hovered over the six-storey building because there was evidence before the court that the incident could have been brought about by external forces such as controlled demolition or an explosion.

“The verdict did not even refer to the CCTV footage which showed the six-storey building falling in less than four seconds – a manner consistent with controlled or externally induced demolition – nor did it refer to the interim report and investigation by the Nigeria Police Force which pointed to sabotage by external forces.

“The recommendation for the investigation and prosecution of the contractors and structural engineers used by the church for criminal negligence is premature because it gives the impression that the coroner has found them guilty when a coroner is not allowed in law to make any finding of civil or criminal liability against anybody.”

Ojo said no matter “how long a lie is sustained, the truth will someday prevail.”

Meanwhile, the structural engineer, Fatiregun, has said he would challenge the coroner’s recommendation in court.

Fatiregun, who insisted that his company employed international best practices in the construction of the collapsed building, said, “We will definitely challenge the outcome of this coroner’s inquest.”