The Lagos State High Court presided over by Justice
Lateefa Okunnu has ruled that the Coroner inquest into the
cause of the collapsed six-storey building of the
Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, has the legal
right to issue witness summon on T.B Joshua, head of the
church to testify on the matter.
The court also decided on Friday, March 6, 2015 that the
Coroner as a court cannot be sued.
Prophet Joshua had approached the court to stop the
Coroner from inviting him to bear witness in the matter;
arguing that the Coroner was going beyond its legal limit
and exercising his personal bias on the matter.
But Justice Okunnu held that the there is no extent the
Coroner cannot go to obtain information necessary to
unravel the cause of the collapse that claimed about 116
lives last year. She maintained that the Coroner who
doubles as a Magistrate has the legal power to summon
and even issue warrant of arrest against anyone involved
in a case before it.
The implication of the ruling is that Joshua will have to
appear before the coroner, while the inquest continues or
he will be “flouting the law,” Okunnu said.
Reacting after the judgment, Akinjide Bakare, Counsel to
the Lagos State government expressed believe that Joshua
will obey the court order because “the person in question
is a man of God, and God is a God of justice.”
There are legal sanctions that could be exercised against
Joshua including warrant of arrest if he flouts the court
judgment.

https://www.tell.ng/court-orders-t-b-joshua-to-appear-before-coroner/