Synagogue deaths: Trustees, engineers to be arraigned tomorrow

The trustees of ‎Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) will tomorrow be arraigned before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over the collapse of a six-story building in the church on September 12, 2014, which led to the death of 116 persons.

 Senior Pastor of the church, Prophet T.B Joshua is one of the trustees.

 In a  statement by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Bola Akingbade said, the trustees will be arraigned before Justice Lawal Akapo alongside the engineers that constructed the collapsed building.

t would be recalled that Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos had dismissed the fundamental human rights enforcement suits filed by the engineers who constructed the collapsed six-story building to stop their planned trial.

 The engineers – Mr. Oladele Ogundeji and Mr. Akinbela Fatiregun, had filed two separate suits before Justice Buba seeking an order restraining the police from inviting, arresting or prosecuting them over the victims’ death.

 The Lagos State Government, had set up a Coroner Inquest to unravel what went wrong, and via a verdict delivered on August 7, 2015 by Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, the Coroner had indicted the engineers and recommended them for investigation and prosecution for criminal negligence.

 The engineers had filed the suits following the Coroner’s verdict, which attributed the building collapse to structural defect.

 The engineers had specifically rejected the Coroner’s verdict, describing it as “unreasonable, one-sided and biased.”

 But Justice Buba, in his ruling on the defendants’ preliminary objection, held that the engineers “had not made out a case of infringement on their fundamental rights even on the merit of the application,” and dismissed their applications.

 The judge, who noted that the Coroner Law was an enactment of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which is constitutionally empowered to make laws in the state, said “the Federal High Court could not dabble into the affairs of the state and start dishing out injunctive orders.”

 On the prayer by the engineers asking for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Lagos State Attorney General or any officer under his authority from initiating or commencing criminal proceedings against them based on the verdict of the Coroner, Justice Buba held that such request was ungrantable in the circumstance of the case under review.

 The judge added: “The Coroner’s inquest is not a court of law; it does not find anybody guilty, it only recommends. The Federal High Court can not tamper with the Coroner Law, which is a Constitutional enactment of the Lagos State House of Assembly.”

 Shortly after the verdict, the State Government had assured that the affected persons would be swiftly charge to court. The assurance was contained in a statement issued by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the State, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem.

Synagogue building collapse : T.B. Joshua holds memorial service

Exactly a year after 116 people died at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B. Joshua founder of church will today (Saturday) hold a memorial service in honour of the victims.


The building collapsed on September 12, 2014 in the Ikotun area of Lagos and 116 people, mostly South Africans, died inside the collapsed six-storey guest house owned by SCOAN.

In a statement, the church said the memorial service, which is to commemorate the first anniversary of the unfortunate incident, would hold in South Africa.

According to the church, Prophet T.B Joshua had sent a delegation from Nigeria to take part in activities leading to the memorial.

T.B. Joshua, who described deceased as Martyrs of Faith, maintained that they were on an appointment with God when they met their death and therefore believes that they did not die in vain.

He however called on the entire SCOAN family all over the world to join forces to pray for the repose of the souls of their departed.

Meanwhile, months after a Lagos coroner had passed is verdict calling for the prosecution of the contractors that handled the building of the collapsed structure, experts have warned that the government might have been chasing shadows rather than focus on the real issues that led to the tragedy.

The experts, which include Captain Michael Oyediran, blasts specialist in the late General Adekunle-led 3rd Marine Commandoes during the Nigerian Civil War and Retired Captain ‘Tele Olagundoye also of the 3rd Marine Commandoes observed that the way the building collapsed questions the security consciousness of the government, especially in an era when terrorism is becoming highly scientific and sophisticated.

Oyediran said he was alarmed at the September 12 incident and how government inquest handled the matter.

“Considering the evidence of those engineers and the scientist, I became very worried because infrasound implosion was used in my time during the Nigerian Civil War”, he noted.

Exactly a year after 116 people died at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B. Joshua founder of church will today (Saturday) hold a memorial service in honour of the victims.
The building collapsed on September 12, 2014 in the Ikotun area of Lagos and 116 people, mostly South Africans, died inside the collapsed six-storey guest house owned by SCOAN.
In a statement, the church said the memorial service, which is to commemorate the first anniversary of the unfortunate incident, would hold in South Africa.
According to the church, Prophet T.B Joshua had sent a delegation from Nigeria to take part in activities leading to the memorial.
T.B. Joshua, who described deceased as Martyrs of Faith, maintained that they were on an appointment with God when they met their death and therefore believes that they did not die in vain.
He however called on the entire SCOAN family all over the world to join forces to pray for the repose of the souls of their departed.

Meanwhile, months after a Lagos coroner had passed is verdict calling for the prosecution of the contractors that handled the building of the collapsed structure, experts have warned that the government might have been chasing shadows rather than focus on the real issues that led to the tragedy.
The experts, which include Captain Michael Oyediran, blasts specialist in the late General Adekunle-led 3rd Marine Commandoes during the Nigerian Civil War and Retired Captain ‘Tele Olagundoye also of the 3rd Marine Commandoes observed that the way the building collapsed questions the security consciousness of the government, especially in an era when terrorism is becoming highly scientific and sophisticated.
Oyediran said he was alarmed at the September 12 incident and how government inquest handled the matter.
“Considering the evidence of those engineers and the scientist, I became very worried because infrasound implosion was used in my time during the Nigerian Civil War”, he noted.

TB Joshua donates N10m to IDPs, laments camp condition

Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, yesterday donated N10 million to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kuchingoro Camp, Abuja.

Joshua who lamented the condition in which Nigerians displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East region are living, called for more support to improve conditions in the camps.