The coroner handling the inquest into the cause of the collapse of the guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) has threatened to issue a bench warrant on the chief executives of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) and the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) for failing to appear before him.
The magistrate heading the inquest, Mr. O.A. Komolafe had visited the site of the collapsed building with his team where SCOAN played the video clipping showing an aircraft allegedly overflying the building before it collapsed.
The coroner said he needed NAMA officials to explain the circumstances behind the aircraft overflying the building.
Komolafe and the chief forensic pathologist, Professor John Obafunwa also demanded the manifest containing the names of those who were in the building when it collapsed, but the officials of SCOAN could not produce it.
At the first sitting of the inquest on Monday, the coroner had set aside Thursday for a fact-finding visit to the site of the collapsed building.
Others in the fact-finding delegation were the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde, the Lagos State Chief Forensic Pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa and counsel to the state government, Akingbolahan Adeniran.
Also on the coroner’s entourage were representatives of the Nigeria Police Force, the Red Cross Society and Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA).
While demanding for the list of those who lodged in the building before its collapse, Komolafe said the list would help in complementing the work of the pathologists in identifying the corpses.
The coroner however allayed fears, saying the inquest was not geared towards convicting anybody but to unravel the circumstances that led to the collapse of the building.
“I said at the inaugural sitting that we are not here on a witch-hunt or to convict anybody. We are here for a fact-finding purpose and how we can ascertain the cause of the incident,” Komolafe said.
Obafunwa also spoke on the need to make the list available, saying there was no harm in doing so. He also delivered a formal letter addressed to the church requesting for the manifest.
“In an investigation of this nature, we need to carry out our own tests. DNA analysis will not give you a name. There is nothing wrong with what we are asking for,” Obafunwa said.
In his response, counsel to the church, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the DNA of all the families of the victims had been submitted to the pathologists more than two weeks ago.
He added that the church was ready to cooperate with the coroner in unraveling the cause of the building collapse, adding that the requested list will also be provided.
The coroner adjourned the next sitting for October 24, 2014.