Court locks out the physically challenged as TB Joshua gets summoned

by Adedayo Ademuwagun

The Coroner’s Inquest concerning the Synagogue church building collapse continued today at the Lagos High Court in Ikeja.

There’s been a lot of controversy about this accident since it happened, and many people have clamoured for the government to take strong action concerning the matter in order to bring justice and avert a reoccurence. It’s on this note that the inquest was established by the Lagos government.

At the second sitting today, the Lagos fire service and the Lagos traffic management agency testified in court through their separate representatives.

The Lagos fire brigade chief, Adebayo Musiliu, told the court that the building didn’t collapse because of an explosion.

“The collapsed building did not depict any sign of explosion or implosion,” he said. “All the bodies recovered were whole and not dismembered or burnt. There were no scattered bricks. The floors and pillars were also not shattered.’

The head of the Synagogue church TB Joshua was not present today and at the first sitting on October 13. But the coroner, Alexander Komolafe, has summoned him to appear on November 5.

The coroner said, “We have heard that he has been addressing the press at various times. Let him come and address the court. The court has summoned him. Let him come tell us what he knows. He can’t sit over there and keep sending word to us. He should be here too.”

Physically challenged people prevented from accessing court

Meanwhile, some physically challenged people came to the court in support of TB Joshua. They had placards and were peaceful, but the security men at the gate blocked them from entering the premises at all. One of the security men told us that they were acting on an order from a superior official.

The security chief was in a meeting at the time, but a senior information officer of the court told us the security chief must have given the order, maybe because he thought these people locked outside were a security risk. But she apologised to us and admitted that it was unnecessary to bar these people, seeing that they were there peacefully with nothing but cardboards. So she promised to have a word with the security chief about the matter.

The people remained outside the gates throughout the sitting. They clearly felt deprived.

Jonah, one of the leaders said, “This is not fair at all. Are they treating us this way because we’re physically challenged? This is not fair. I’m Nigerian. This should not be happening to me in my own country.”

The inquest is an inquiry into the manner and cause of the building crash, and it’s headed by Alexander Komolafe. It’s not a regular court in that people aren’t being prosecuted and there are no trials. The purpose of the coroner’s sittings is simply to find out the facts and establish the truth. The court will sit again next Tuesday, October 28.

Comments (2)

  1. so who do we belive

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