Inquest Team Visits Scene Of Synagogue Building Collapse

Henry Ojelu

The coroner’s inquest team set up by the Lagos State Government to investigate the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, building collapse Thursday visited the site of the incident.

The visit was part of effort by the team to ascertain the cause of the 12 September incident which killed at least 115 people.

The inquest headed by Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe officially began preliminary sitting on Monday at the Ikeja High Court premises in Lagos.

After setting out the procedure to be adopted in  conducting the inquest, Komolafe informed counsel and witnesses that the scene of the incident would be visited Thursday to have a visual insight of the building structure and location before the collapse.

Komolafe was accompanied in the morning to the Ikotun Egbe site of the church building collapse by legal representatives of Synagogue church, officials of the Lagos State Government, Red Cross Society, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, and journalists from international and local media.

The team was welcomed by Chief Security Officer of the church, Sunday Okojie who conducted them round the scene of the collapsed building.

Speaking during a tour of the  site, Komolafe said the purpose of the visit was to get a physical view of where the incident occurred in order to assist the inquest in reaching its findings.

He said: “Like I said at the inaugural sitting, we are not here on a witch-hunt or to convict anybody. We are here for a fact-finding purpose and how we can ascertain the cause of the incident.”

Komolafe directed the church to give the list of the people lodged at the collapsed building to the Lagos State forensic team led by Obafunwa to assist in identification of the victims.

“We want to be able to identify all the victims because those bodies will not be released to their relatives if we cannot identify them.

“They will be given mass burial which is not appropriate,” he added.

Also speaking at the scene, Prof John Obafunwa, Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, who presented a formal letter addressed to the church requesting for the manifest, noted that it was needed for proper identification of the victims.

Obafunwa said: “In an investigation of this nature, we need to carry out our own tests.

“DNA analysis will not give you a name. There is nothing wrong with what we are asking for.”

Responding, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel to the Synagogue Church, noted that DNA of all the families involved in the incident was submitted to the pathologists more than two weeks ago.

Fagbemi reiterated that the church was ready to cooperate with the inquest to unravel the cause of the building collapse and that the said manifest would be provided by his client.