Synagogue Church building collapse explained

2014 Synagogue Church building collapse
Date:12 September 2014
Place:Ikotun Egbe, Lagos State, Nigeria
Deaths:115[1]

On 12 September 2014, a guesthouse located within the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) premises around the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State collapsed completely to the ground.[2] The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other emergency services were criticized for withholding information about the accident, and much remained unclear about the number of deaths and their nationalities.[3]

Incident

On 12 September 2014, a guesthouse collapsed in the SCOAN's premises in Lagos killing at least 115 people, 84 of them were South Africans.[4]

Casualties

Nigerian emergency services refused to release the nationalities of the victims, but other countries have provided some details about those who died. The vast majority of casualties were from South Africa, but the nationalities of dozens of people remained unclear.[1]

+Casualties by nationality
Nationdata-sort-type="number"Number
84
1
Nationality unknown 30
Total 115

Reactions

The then governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, ordered all church workers away from the scene in order to properly rescue trapped bodies.[5] The government also claimed the church did not get government approval before construction.[6] Journalist Nicholas Ibekwe released an audio recording that allegedly captures T.B. Joshua offering bribes to journalists in return for reporting the incident in a way that favorably portrayed the church.[7]

Cause

The senior pastor of the church, T. B. Joshua has linked the tragedy to a strange aircraft "hovering" above the building shortly before it fell.[8] A video was released on YouTube that allegedly showed the plane hovering around the building before its collapse.[9] However, the coroner's report unequivocally found the cause to be due to structural failure.[10] Three government agencies, the Nigeria Building And Road Research Institute (NBBRI), the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), examined the site and found the following inadequacies:

Trial

Joshua failed to appear at a November 2015 hearing[12] and SCOAN's lawyers have filed multiple applications to stay the proceedings.[13] [14] [15] The Lagos state government has repeatedly insisted that this case receive trial.[16]

Local radio host Freeze made unfavorable comparisons to a similar incident in Lekki, in which Lekki Gardens managing director Richard Nyong was jailed for illegally unsealing a building that he was having constructed and that which later collapsed.[17] [18] Freeze was upset because Nyong had been arrested quickly, but Joshua had not.[19]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.bnowire.com/2014/09/22/death-toll-from-nigerian-church-collapse-hits-115/ Death toll from Nigerian church collapse hits 115
  2. Web site: Tragedy: Scores die as Synagogue church building collapses . vanguardngr.com . 13 September 2014 . 17 September 2014 . Chioma Gabriel, Evelyn Usman, and Yinka Latona.
  3. Web site: 2024-01-15 . Nigeria questions SA claims over church collapse toll - Gulf Times . 2024-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240115112427/https://www.gulf-times.com/story/408692/nigeria-questions-sa-claims-over-church-collapse-toll . 2024-01-15 .
  4. News: TB Joshua Lagos church collapse: Many South Africans dead – BBC News . Bbc.co.uk . 2014-09-17. 2015-09-14. BBC News .
  5. Web site: Synagogue: Fashola orders church staff out . tribune.com.ng . 17 September 2014.
  6. Web site: Fashola Visits Synagogue, Mulls Inquiry Into Causes Of Collapse . leadership.ng . 17 September 2014.
  7. Web site: Why I put out the TB Joshua bribery audio. INVESTIGATE!. 2015-11-10. 2014-09-23.
  8. Web site: Synagogue Church Tragedy: Pastor TB Joshua Links Building Collapse That Killed 17 People To Strange Aircraft . saharareporters.com . 14 September 2014 . 17 September 2014 . MICHEAL ABIMBOYE.
  9. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Security Footage Of Synagogue Collapse & 'Strange Airplane' Allegedly Behind It. YouTube.
  10. Web site: SCOAN Coroner Judgement – 8 Jul 2015. Scribd. 2015-11-10.
  11. Web site: Must read: What the coroner really said about TB Joshua's death trap building. TB Joshua Watch. 2015-11-11. 2015-07-18.
  12. Web site: expressng on November 30, 2015 . TB Joshua Missing On First Day At Building Collapse Trial, Lawyer Explains – Entertainment Express . Expressng.com . 2015-11-30 . 2016-08-04.
  13. Web site: TB Joshua files fresh application to stop trial over death of 116 persons . Theeagleonline.com.ng . 2016-01-18. 2016-08-04.
  14. News: AFP . TB Joshua trial delayed . The Citizen . 2016-02-18 . 2016-08-04.
  15. Web site: TB Joshua: Fresh Applications Stall Arraignment of Scoan Contractors and Trustees - the Maravi Post . 2016-03-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160321053417/http://www.maravipost.com/life-and-style/people/10600-tb-joshua-fresh-applications-stall-arraignment-of-scoan-contractors-and-trustees.html . 2016-03-21 .
  16. News: Taiwo George . Lagos insists TB Joshua must face trial | TheCable . Thecable.ng . 2016-02-04 . 2016-10-16.
  17. Web site: Lekki Building Collapse: What Really Is Justice? – OAP, Freeze Writes | Nigerian Entertainment Today – Nigeria's Number 1 Entertainment Daily . Thenet.ng . 2016-03-12 . 2016-08-04.
  18. News: Recurring incidents of building-collapse in Lagos (Editorial) . https://web.archive.org/web/20160315235113/http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/recurring-incidents-of-building-collapse-in-lagos/ . usurped . March 15, 2016 . Nationalmirroronline.net . 2016-03-16 . 2016-10-16.
  19. Web site: #Justice4All: "Why Is Lekki Gardens MD Remanded In Prison And TB Joshua Walking Free?" – Daddy Freeze Blows Up . 360Nobs.com . 2016-03-12 . 2016-08-04.

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