Coroner continues inquest, visits Synagogue

The coroner supervising the inquest into the collapse of a guest house at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) visited the scene of the incident at Ikotun, Lagos, in continuation of an investigation that formally began  on Monday.

The Thursday visit was part of efforts by the coroner to unravel the cause of the September 12 incident, which killed about 115 people.

Presided over by Oyetade Komolafe, the coroner, the inquest was instituted by the Lagos state government under the Lagos state coroner’s system law No. 7 of 2007.

Komolafe was accompanied on the visit by Toyin Ayinde, Lagos state commissioner for physical planning and urban development, and John Obafunwa, a professor and the state’s chief medical examiner.

Others on the visit were Akingbolahan Adeniran, Lagos state counsel, as well as representatives of the Nigeria police, Red Cross Society and the Lagos state emergency management authority.

Sunday Okojie, the chief security officer of the church, received the entourage and conducted them around the scene of the incident.

Komolafe said the purpose of the visit was to get a physical view of where the collapse occurred in order to assist the inquest in reaching its findings.

“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,” NAN quoted him as saying.

Komolafe directed the church to provide the Lagos state forensic team with the list of people lodged at the collapsed building to assist in identifying 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,” he said.

“They will be given mass burial, which is not appropriate.’’

Obafunwa also presented a formal letter addressed to the church asking for the manifest, noting that it was needed for proper identification of the victims.

“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,” Obafunwa said.

In his response, Lateef Fagbemi, a senior advocate of Nigeria and counsel to the Synagogue church, reiterated the church’s readiness to cooperate with the inquest to unravel the cause of the building collapse. He assured the coroner that the said manifest would be provided.

On his part, Okojie showed the team two Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras reported to have captured the incident, particularly the “mysterious’’ airplane flying very low around the building before it collapsed.

The matter was adjourned till October 24 for further hearing.