Fire guts TB Joshua’s tomb shelter

Fire has gutted the tomb shelter of TB Joshua, the late founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), in Ikotun, Lagos.

It is understood that the fire started around 6:30 pm on Wednesday at the old site of the SCOAN, located at Agodo, Egbe — about two kilometres from the church’s headquarters cathedral.

Speaking on the incident, Ibrahim Farinloye, the acting coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said its officials have put out the fire.

“We got an alert around 8:20 pm. The fire service and some policemen went there. It was raining. Barely after one hour of fighting the fire, it went down,” he told TheCable.

“By 9:45 pm everything went off and we left the place. There were no injured victims or casualties. No one died. It’s a residential house, so church members who were around assisted in fighting the fire. Investigating the cause of the fire outbreak is something left for the police to do.”

On her part, Margaret Adeseye, the head of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services, said the shelter covering of the late pastor was also affected by the fire outbreak.

“It is confirmed that a section around the tomb of the late pastor TB Joshua caught fire. A shelter was built to cover the tomb because it is an open place, so, it was the shelter that caught fire,” she stated.

“But we were able to curtail it and it did not spread beyond where it started from. We have yet to identify the cause of the fire.”

The management of SCOAN, in a statement, said the fire outbreak, which started from a general-purpose store at the old site, has been put out through the efforts of the ministry’s emergency response team.

The statement also added that “no injuries whatsoever and no lives lost”.

“Currently, the cause of the fire is unknown. To this end, we wish to assure our esteemed members, partners and friends of the ministry that we are on top of the situation. There is no need for panic and unnecessary speculations,” it read.

“As sons and daughters of love, we shall continually uphold the assurances of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has conquered the world for our sakes.

“Please, disregard any alarmist news aimed at creating panic amongst the church members in particular and the general public.

“We are no longer slaves to fear. We are children of God. Emmanuel!”

Joshua died on June 6, 2021, after battling a stroke.