by Akan Ido

The Lagos State Government has marked several buildings in the Synagogue Church complex for structural integrity test.

A multi-storey guest house in the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) premises collapsed last week leaving scores of people dead. Over eighty people have been declared dead while many more sustained injuries.

The Lagos State Government have, however, vowed to investigate the structural integrity of other buildings in the church based in the Ikotun area of Lagos.

While speaking to newsmen over the development, the General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Abimbola Animashaun-Odunayo said the buildings have been marked, not for the purpose of demolition, but to demand documentation proving the legality of such structures.

According to the LASBCA boss, “‘X’ (the mark on the building) does not mean demolition; it is for structural integrity test to be carried out on the building and the church is expected to provide all the documents for approval and the church has three months to do this.”

Mrs. Animashaun-Odunayo, however, declined to declare the next line of action if the church is unable to present such documents within the stipulated time-frame.

“Look, it is still under investigation; I can’t say more than that,” she said.

LASBCA was recently created to enforce building control regulations and implement the 2010 Physical Planning, Urban Development and Building Law in the state.

The State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde, also described the church marking as a “stop work order” pending when all documentations are presented and scrutinized.

Ayinde said, “It is a stop work order. it doesn’t mean the building will be demolished.”

The commissioner said though there was an approval for the church auditorium, he was not certain that there was an approval for the additional work being done on the auditorium.

The SCOAN, led by popular pastor, T.B Joshua has been accused of attempting to add four more storeys to a two-storey structure resulting in the building collapse.