Fashola holds secret meeting with T.B Joshua

Forty-four people have so far died while 130 survivors have been rescued as a result of a building collapse at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). Recovery efforts were still ongoing as at yesterday. The six-storey building, located in the sprawling compound of the vast church complex, came down on Friday afternoon. It was undergoing construction work to add extra floors.

Speaking with our correspondents, General Overseer of the church, Prophet T.B Joshua, described those who have lost their lives as martyrs. Despite the tragedy, the Sunday service and miracle session held at the church auditorium yesterday. Also, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) yesterday held a closed door meeting with the General Overseer of Synagogue, Prophet T.B. Joshua.

The governor did not speak with journalists after the meeting. Fashola had earlier urged Prophet Joshua to allow trained professionals to take charge of the disaster scene to ensure speedy evacuation and rescue operation. The governor, who was visibly angry when he visited the scene of the collapsed building, ordered the Commander of the Rapid Respond Squad (RSS), Hakeem Odumosu and the Chairman of the state Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences Unit, CSP Bayo Sulaiman to ensure the entire place is condoned off.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Government and National Emergency Management Agency yesterday disagreed over a video footage showing an aircraft hovering around the ill-fated church building before it eventually collapsed. The church authority had blamed the tragic incident on sabotage, saying a terrorist group was behind the attack on the church which made its guest house under construction caved in. They wondered why the same aircraft had to hover around the building for over four times before the building went down.

Joshua was widely quoted on Sunday as saying that a low-flying plane that had been repeatedly circling the building may have been responsible for the collapse. Ikotun lies to the west of Lagos’ international airport.

But a highly placed official of the state government, who watched the video clip, said they could not find any correlation between the hovering aircraft and the collapsed building. Also faulting the claim, NEMA South-West spokesperson, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the claim has engendered security concern, but said the construction of the building did not follow due process.

According to him, the building was initially twostorey before other floors were added to it without proper adjustment to the foundation basements. Addressing journalists at the scene of the incident, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde, reiterated that the church authority was yet to present evidence of building approval. Ayinde said like the collapsed building, the church had begun to add additional floors to some existing buildings.

He said: “The church authority claimed they have a team of engineers overseeing the ongoing building construction in the church premises. They claimed they have approval for the building. We have told them to present their approval. So, we are still waiting for them to present it.” In another development, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has given the Federal Government 48 hours to investigate the cause of the building collapse.

The group in a statement signed by its national president, Sunny Enenuvwedia, said: “The building collapsed in a manner that suggests a pre-planned, pre-meditated and controlled process in the sense that all the pillars gave way simultaneously and the entire structure came down together.

Structurally defective buildings don’t just collapse completely like it happened in this case especially considering that the building has been standing for years. “The total number of lives that has been lost and those who sustained various categories of injuries is yet to be known but it is clear that the victims are not Nigerians only. The Church always play host to citizens from all nations hence the saddening incident has international implications.”

http://newtelegraphonline.com/death-toll-hits-44-in-synagogue-tragedy/