Nigerian Prophet Temitope Joshua has launched a scathing attack against the verdict of the coroner’s court in Lagos which ruled that the tragic collapse of a building within his church last year was due to structural failure.
“The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) rejects the verdict of the coroner on the grounds that it is unreasonable, one-sided and biased,” a statement released via their official Facebook page read, attributed to Barr. Olalekan Ojo, lead counsel to The SCOAN.
“The church maintains its stand that the incident was as a result of sabotage,” the statement continued, further adding that the public should not be misled by media reports casting sensational headlines suggesting the church was liable for prosecution over ‘criminal negligence’.
The statement highlighted that no evidence was found that The SCOAN hired incompetent professionals or used substandard materials in the construction of the building.
“There was no finding that connected the incident with the lack of a building permit,” the statement proceeded, adding that the process of procuring the necessary approval was well underway and had been assessed and accepted by relevant government agencies before the incident.
“The church disagrees most vehemently with the finding that the incident was due to structural failure,” continued the strongly worded statement, insisting the verdict failed to consider substantial evidence which pointed to sabotage and ruled out structural failure.
“It was a one-sided verdict which left many issues unaddressed and questions unanswered.”
The SCOAN highlighted that the verdict failed to even recognise the CCTV footage released by the church which showed “the 6-storey building falling in less than four seconds – a manner consistent with controlled or externally induced demolition”.
It concluded by stating that Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe’s admission “that the conduct of the investigation of the incident was compromised… calls into question the integrity and …Read More
Source:: New Mail
