SCOAN: Lagos urges court to dismiss suit opposing inquest

The Lagos State Government on Thursday urged a federal high court to dismiss a suit filed by lawyer Olukoya Ogungbeje seeking to halt the ongoing coroner’s inquest into the collapse of a six-storeyed building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) on September 12, 2014.

A total of 116 persons, mostly foreigners, have so far been confirmed dead.

The government had set up the coroner’s inquest and appointed Oyetade Komolafe, a magistrate, to preside over it.

Komolafe swiflty swung into action, inviting everyone connected with the matter, but Ogungbeje approached the federal high court to stop the proceedings.

The lawyer had brought the suit pursuant to the provisions of Fundamental Human Rights Enforcement Rules. However, the state government, in a counter-affidavit to the suit, urged the court to dismiss it.

The counter-affidavit was deposed to by Moradeke Oladunjoye, a senior state counsel with the Lagos state ministry of justice.

The government explained that the inquest into the collapsed building was initiated due to public outcry on the need to investigate circumstances surrounding the death of about 116 people.

The government further argued that the inquest was also initiated pursuant to the provisions of Coroner System Law of Lagos State, 2007, duly passed into law by the Lagos state house of assembly.

The government said the allegations in the suit were untrue, as the inquest was not a regular court but was only on a fact-finding assignment to unravel what actually went down.

The deponent (Oladunjoye) recalled that the preliminary investigation carried out by the Lagos state building control agency revealed that the church never got approval for the additional structures on the collapsed building.

Besides, government argued that the applicant (Ogungbeje) lacked the locus standi to sustain the suit, as he was neither a member of the Synagogue Church, nor was he personally affected by the inquest.

The matter, which was scheduled for argument on Thursday, could not go on as planned before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The applicant was served with the counter-affidavit of the defendants in open court on Thursday and he requested a short adjournment to enable him file reply on points of law.

Justice Buba consequently fixed hearing for November 10, 2014.

The applicant had argued in the suit that the inauguration of the coroner’s inquest was a negation of the principle of natural justice and Section 36 of the Constitution, and as such it was unconstitutional, null and void.

The lawyer recalled that the coroner’s inquest was constituted by the Lagos state government after the agencies of the state government had indicted T.B. Joshua, a prophet and founder of Synagogue Church, as well as his Church of wrongdoing by adding additional structures on the building without approval.

He argued that if allowed to continue, the proceedings of the inquest would seriously occasion miscarriage of justice, as the same inquest would base its decision on the testimonies of the same agencies of the state that openly indicted Joshua and his church.

For instance, the lawyer recalled that the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA), the Lagos state building control Agency, the Lagos state fire service, the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) and others made public and prejudicial report in public domain that the building collapsed as a result of additional structures, while Joshua’s claim that the building collapsed as a result of an aircraft hovering round the building moments before it collapsed was ignored.

“The Lagos state building control agency even went ahead to seal up the main building of the church. The general manager of the agency even said in the papers and I quote him as follows ‘We have investigated and found that they had no approval for the additional structures. Even the main church, which they have added about three floors on, was sealed two days ago,'” Ogungbeje said.