Synagogue Sues Lagos Coroner’s Court, AG over Collapsed Building Indictment

The Registered Trustee of Synagogue Church of All Nation (SCOAN) has sued the Lagos State Coroner’s Court and the state Attorney-General over the criminal indictment of the church and two engineers who constructed the collapsed six-storey guest house belonging to the church.

The September 12, 2014, collapsed building led to the death of 166 people mostly South Africans.

In the suit filed on January 11, 2016, before Justice Kazeem Alogba of an Ikeja High Court, the church is seeking an order of certiorari quashing the verdict of the coroners’ court presided over by Magistrate Komolafe Oyetade on the ground that the court exceeded its statutory jurisdiction.

Magistrate Komolafe and the Attorney General, Lagos State are listed as respondents in the suit.

The Coroners Court set up by the state government to investigate the cause and circumstances resulting in the death of 166 people following the building collapse had in its verdict last year indicted SCOAN and the two engineers who constructed the collapsed building.

The court particularly ordered that Synagogue church be investigated and prosecuted by the relevant authorities for not possessing necessary building permit while the two engineers who constructed the collapsed building should be tried for criminal negligence.
The two embattled engineers subsequently filed a Fundamental Human Rights Enforcement suit before a Federal High Court, Lagos,against the Coroners Court, state government, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN).

The suit which was meant to stop the arrest and prosecution of the church and the engineers was however dismissed by the Federal High Court.

Following the Federal High Court judgment, the state government late last year instituted a 111 count criminal charges against trustees of the church and the two engineers.

The matter, which is before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, is slated for hearing today.

In the new suit seeking to quash the coroners’ verdict, Synagogue church contended that the “Coroner’s Court of Lagos State, Alimosho District,” which presided over and delivered the verdict is unknown to Coroner’s Court of Lagos State, 2007 and Coroner’s System Law (Subsidiary Legislation) which established Coroner’s Court in Lagos State.

The church further contended that the Lagos Coroner’s System Law, 2007 only established Lagos, Ikeja, Yaba and Apapa districts and that Alimosho  Coroner’s district which presided over the Synagogue building collapse inquest was not a creation of the law.

The church also urged that any finding, recommendation and or verdict delivered or rendered by an illegal court such as “Coroner’s Court, Alimosho District” is a nullity and liable to be quashed.

The new suit is also praying the High Court to quash the verdict of the coroner’s  court on the ground that the inquest acted in excess of it jurisdiction by concluding  that structural failure due to the combination of design and detailing errors caused the collapse of the Synagogue six-story building.

According to the suit, the recommendations made by the coroner’s court ordering the prosecution of the church and building engineers were outside the powers of the coroners as it is only empowered to inquire into the cause of death, time of death, manner of death and identities of the persons that died. The church also prayed the court to make an order setting aside the charges instituted by the state government against the Registered Trustees of SCOAN.

When the matter came up yesterday, Magistrate Komolafe was absent in court and was not represented by any lawyer. Mr. A. O Idowu who represented the state Attorney General pleaded with the court for time to filed a response to the suit.
The matter has been adjourned till February 4, 2016.

Meanwhile, the state government has vowed to challenge the fresh suit, as government was desirous of pursuing the issues relating to the matter to a logical conclusion.