T.B. Joshua of The Synagogue, contractor face coroner Nov 5

The founder and General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet T.B. Joshua, is to show up prior to the coroner investigating the explanation for the church’s building that collapsed on September 12.  Joshua will be on November 5, 2014, together with the contractor in control of the  collapsed six-storey building, which claimed no fewer than 115 lives.  The coroner, Magistrate O.A. Komolafe, through the sitting of the court on Friday, stated that the look of the church’s founder was vital that the findings of the court.

Though, counsel for the church, Mr. Jude Nnadi (SAN), argued that the look of the pastor wouldn’t be necessary, “as he wasn’t an eyewitness,” Komolafe insisted that Joshua would need to appear.  The magistrate, who said he’d heard that Joshua had addressed the press at various times, said the pastor must appear prior to the court to provide evidence.

Komolafe 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 and tell us what he knows. He cannot sit over there and be sending words to us that he cannot come.

“The court has said that for the purpose of what we are doing that he should come over.”

Meanwhile, a Chief Operational Specialist with the Lagos State Fireplace Company, Adebayo Musiliu,  informed the judge on Friday that his statement exposed that the building didn’t fail consequently of an explosion.  Musiliu,  who claimed he’d 34 decades of knowledge in rescue work, insisted that there clearly was nothing to claim that the incident happened as a result of an explosion.

He said,

“All the bodies recovered were whole and not dismembered or burnt. Also there were no scattered bricks. The floors and pillars were also not shattered, rather the building had collapsed on top of each other.

“The collapsed building did not depict any sign of explosion or implosion.”

The coroner’s sitting was adjourned till Tuesday.