Tension at Synagogue Church of All Nations as Coroner gives verdict July 8

The Lagos coroner probing the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the 116 persons in the
September 12 Synagogue Church Of All Nations building collapse, Magistrate O.A. Komolafe, has fixed July 8, 2015 to give his verdict.
Komolafe fixed the date on Tuesday after he had entertained final written addresses and summary arguments from the lawyers representing the various interested parties.
The inquest, which began on October 13, 2014, had taken testimonies from various individuals and agencies that were summoned.
Canvassing his final argument on Tuesday, counsel for SCOAN, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, said it was obvious from the various testimonies and evidences placed before the court that the six-storey guest house did not collapse as a result of structural defect.
He said the building was properly contracted to competent engineers and was built to standard.
The lawyer added that if there was need to question anyone on the reason for the collapse of the guest house, it should be the engineers and not the church.
While supporting the claim that the building was felled through sabotage, Ojo made refence to the testimony of a 37-year-old graduate of Chemistry from the University of Maiduguri, Mr. Biedomo Iguniewe, who had suggested that the building may have collapsed due to infrasonic radiation.
Ojo said Biedomo’s evidence was never contradicted.
While insisting that non-existence of a building approval had no bearing on the structural integrity of a building, Ojo advised the Lagos State Government to take appropriate steps to regularise the building construction and approval applications shown to be pending with the relevant state agencies.
In its submission, the Building Collapse Prevention Guild said  the guild was unable to establish any foundational failures in the collapsed building. The guild however insisted that the collapse may have been caused by structural failure.
In its submission, the Lagos State Government insisted that the inquest must be guided by section 40 of the coroners law which bestowed on it the role to find out who the deceased are, when and how they died.
Before adjourning the matter for judgment, Komolafe thanked everyone who had made meaningful input in helping the inquest to arrive at a just judgment.
He subsequently adjourned the matter till July 8.