15th September, 2014
Simon Ateba, Kazeem Ugbodaga & Cyriacus Izuekwe
Nigerians have blasted Prophet T.B. Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations for claiming that Boko Islamist sect might have brought down a six-storey building in his church that has killed more than 40 people.
The massive building, which served as a guest house to wealthy worshippers, especially foreigners, and hosted a five-star restaurant in it, came down at 12.44 pm on Friday, trapping hundreds of people and killing many others instantly.
At the time the building came down on Friday, many worshipers, including many South Africans and some Americans, as well as other nationals, had already checked in as they prepared for the deliverance and miracle service on Sunday, sources said.
Church sources also claimed that prominent church workers had permanent suites in the building, and might have lost their lives.
Synagogue Church has not made available the list of all those who were in the building before it came down in a sudden and dramatic manner.
Joshua told his congregation on Sunday that the collapse was probably caused by a plane that hovered over the building four times before it came down suddenly.
He alleged that it might have been caused by Boko Haram and warned that similar attacks might occur soon in Lagos.
He recalled that when he previously warned that Boko Haram was in Lagos and had attempted to bomb his church, he was not taken seriously. But months after he was vindicated with the alleged Boko Haram attack in Apapa area of Lagos.
While some Nigerians in comments on the social media excoriated Joshua and sided with NEMA spokesperson in the southwest, Ibrahim Farinloye, who asserted that there was no sabotage, others said it was too early to say what actually caused the building to collapse when investigation has not been carried out.
Farinloye said floors were being added to the building without changing the foundation, which probably led to its collapse.
“If it were an act of terrorism or sabotage, it would have gone into rubble,” he told AFP at the scene.
But many cautioned that he lacks the authority to comment on the building collapse because he was neither an architect nor an expert in the field.
Still those who berated Joshua, though neither experts nor investigators, rejected allegations of foul play or terrorism, and said they believe the materials used were substandard or the design was poor.
In his reaction, Wale Adedayo said: “From the video footage provided by the church, yes, there was an aircraft that passed over the building a few times. But contrary to what we are being made to believe, it was not a fighter jet. It was a helicopter. So, the link with the missing NAF fighter jet does not exist except in the imagination of some reporters.
“Let’s assume the aircraft in question was an attack helicopter. It cannot drop a bomb – that’s for sure. Ordnance can only be dropped by fighter jets. But choppers can fire missiles. No missile hit that building – it was very clear from the video.
“There was no collapse from the top. It came from the bottom. That was a structural matter. So, the Lagos State Government should quickly step up its investigation into the matter. Was there an approval for additional floors to that building?
“Who approved the additional floors? On what basis was the approval done? Were recommendations following such approvals followed? These are the questions we should be seeking answers to among others, not this 419 Boko Haram attacked my church approach that Joshua is trying to hoodwink us with.”
Others also called on those involved in the construction of the collapsed building,, including the architect and other engineers, to be investigated.
Though not blaming T B. Joshua directly, many claimed they believe there was negligence in building the massive edifice.
“The whole story is funny,” commented Nonso in www.pmnewsnigeria.com? He wondered why T.B. Joshua didn’t predict the collapse of his own building after predicting many happenings in the world.
Naubiko added: “We can always blame the devil when we don’t do the right thing. Building not strong and government inspector collects bribe to certify the building and then the devil is at fault or maybe this time it’s Boko Haram or even GEJ that collapsed the building.”
He echoed the feelings of many others who made their points on many platforms.
Many, however, cautioned that blames should be kept until after investigations are completed as many of those who have spoken lack the authority on building collapse.
Femi Falana, in a chat with P.M.NEWS on phone Monday, said Nigerians should not dismiss the claim that the building collapsed after a chopper hovered over it for some time. He said the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, should identify the helicopter that hovered over the collapsed building to ascertain whether it was on an ulterior mission or not, warning that everybody would be in danger if the allegation of attack by Boko Haram is ignored.
“In a scientific world, I don’t think that Ibrahim Farinloye should make this kind of hasty judgement! He should reserve his comments until verifiable findings are made by appropriate authorities,” said Suny Lulu.
“He is there solely on emergency purposes and NOT to lay blames or disprove claims made by the affected parties. He is advised to do his job as demanded by civil service rules,” he added on www.pmnewsnigeria.com
Meanwhile, there are strong indications that some victims are still trapped under the collapsed building at Synagogue as rescue teams intensify efforts to save more lives.
An offensive odour is already being perceived at the scene of the incident, suggesting that bodies of trapped victims were already decomposing.
The services of a Chinese company have also been engaged to assist in the rescue operation.
When our reporter visited the church Monday morning, the workers were seen arriving in trucks and were being ushered through the gate leading to the collapse building site.
Our reporter also observed that ambulances were moving in and out of the site to hospitals or mortuary.
LASEMA General Manager, Mr Femi Osayintolu said this morning that they had rescued 140 victims alive and 45 dead bodies and their corpses deposited at various mortuaries in Lagos.
Osayintolu explained that they are being cautious in breaking the rubble so that trapped victims who may still be alive could be rescued.
He also said the Lagos State government would probe the cause of the disaster.
Eye witnesses said the number of those that died was more than the official figure because before the rescue teams arrived the scene, some corpses had been evacuated and taken away by the church ambulances.