Coroner Rules That T.B. Joshua Must Appear As Firefighter Dismisses Explosion Theory

The coroner looking into the fatal collapse of a Guesthouse at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in which over 100 persons died, Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, has ruled that Prophet T.B. Joshua must appear at the inquest on November 5 to share with the court his knowledge of what actually transpired.
The coroner made the declaration today as the inquest continued, in objection to the serial efforts of the counsels to the church to prevent any invitation being extended to the church leader.
When the inquest opened last week, a lead counsel for SCOAN, Lateef Fagbemi, described the Church as a corporate entity, which was at liberty to delegate any member, other than the Prophet, to represent it.
Another lawyer representing the church, Nnadi Jude, said the Prophet was not a witness to the incident and did not need to attend the inquest.
The coroner held differently, saying that Pastor Joshua definitely has something to share.
"The prophet has been speaking to the press and we have been reading him,” he said.  “Let him come and say what he has been telling the press to the court.”
Responding to further attempts by Mr. Jude, the coroner retorted: "Let him come and tell the court what he knows, or is he above the court?"
The inquest today heard from two witnesses. One, from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), said in a brief testimony said his agency was on ground to immediately clear the roads to enable rescue teams have easy access to the venue of building collapse at the church.
The second, representing the Lagos State Fire Service, said that the building collapse was not as a result of an explosion as had been alleged.
He said there was fire four days after the collapse of the building, but that it arose from the welders' cutting of metals and great heat generated in the course of their operation, which ignited petrochemicals and other combustibles that were lodged in the rubble.
Under cross-examination by Olalekan Ojo, a counsel to SCOAN, the Fire Service witness dismissed suggestions that any explosion happened on the day of the building collapse.
"We rescued 131 alive but they had various degrees of injuries. We also brought out more than 80 dead victims. But all their bodies were intact, none of the bodies were shattered from any explosion", he said.
He stated that as first responders in emergency cases, the Fire Service has a duty to move into any area of physical distress such as collapses that may affect lives.  He said the Service was invited by calls from distressed persons who saw the collapse while it happened.
Adjourning to Tuesday, October 28, the coroner ordered that the names of all guests who were in the building at the time of the collapse must be submitted to the court to enable the Chief Pathologist of Lagos State to identify the bodies and return the remains to their families.
A relative of one of the victim of the building collapse, who identified himself as Ifeanyichukwu Osondu, today in the court lodged a complaint that his family is yet to receive the body of their dead relative.  He said they had already submitted blood samples to the Chief Medical Officer for verification.
The coroner stressed that the list of all guests and other relevant documents regarding the collapse must be provided by the Synagogue Church by Tuesday.