Collapsed building: Former commissioner indicts T.B. Joshua

Collapsed building: Former commissioner indicts T.B. Joshua

The ongoing court case between the Lagos state government and the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) is revealing new details

Aformer Lagos state commissioner for physical planning and urban development, Mr Olutoyin Ayinde has opened up on the case

He told the Ikeja High Court yesterday, June 21 that the church didn’t get a valid building permit for the collapsed structure

 Former Lagos state commissioner for physical planning and urban development, Mr Olutoyin Ayinde has indicted the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) and its founder, Prophet Temitope Joshua, popularly referred to as Prophet TB Joshua.

Prophet T.B. Joshua

Ayinde, who is the second prosecution witness in the trial against the church over the building collapse that occurred on September 12, 2014 and killed 116 persons made this revelation before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo. The former commissioner was being led in evidence by Mrs. Idowu Alakija, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the ongoing trial. 

“The Electronic Document Management System was searched and the only building approval for the church did not cover the site of the collapse building. “The document, a five-storey building approval was meant for the church auditorium but as at the time of the collapse, the church auditorium had gone from five floors to eight floors. “By the ministry’s definition, the approval the church had for the auditorium is no longer valid and there was no application for approval registered for the collapsed building. “The Building Control Agency pasted their sticker on the auditorium which had surpassed the approved five-storey but there was no need for sanctions on the other building because it had already collapsed,” Ayinde said.

Ayinde further told the court that on visiting the site of the collapse, there were too many first responders at the scene. His words: 

“I visited the site two days after the collapse as I was attending a retreat outside Lagos when the incident occurred. “With me were the General Managers of LASPPPA and LASBCA as well as the Commander of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) as an advanced team to receive Fashola. “The first thing we noticed were there were too many first responders, many of whom were church members whom we ordered out of the site because they were clogging the responsibilities of the rescuers. “I gave a directive that the rescue work should stop at ground zero to enable the material testing laboratory to conduct tests on the foundation and columns on the debris”. 

The former commissioner stated that a building approval enabled owners of buildings to be adequately compensated when road construction or compulsory acquisition by the government takes place. The SCOAN Trustees, the two engineers, Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun and their companies, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited were last month arraigned before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo on 111-count charge for their involvement in the collapsed building.

The 111-count charges preferred against the defendants by the Lagos state government borders on criminal negligence, manslaughter and failure to obtain building permit.