The collapse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations
building at Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos, was said to have
occurred after an aircraft flew over the church
- A police officer disclosed this to a Lagos high court
on Friday, May 11
- He testified as a defence witness in the trial of the
registered trustees of the church and four others
An assistant commissioner of police, Mr Alaba
Haruna, on Friday, May 11, told a Lagos high
court that an aircraft flew over Synagogue
Church of All Nations building at Ikotun-Egbe, a
Lagos suburb, just before it collapsed on
September 12, 2014, killing 116 people.
He said one of his patrol teams observed an
aircraft flying low over the church and other
buildings in the premises.
Haruna testified before Justice Lateef Lawal-
Akapo of an Igbosere high court on Lagos Island
as a defence witness in the trial of the registered
trustees of the church and four others.
The church opened its defence in a one-count
charge of building without approval brought
against it by the Lagos state Directorate of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) following the dismissal of its
no-case submission on March 8, 2016.
The other defendants are the two engineers who
built the building: Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and
Akinbela Fatiregun, and their companies,
Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company
and Jandy Trust Ltd.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
Haruna, area commander of the Eastern Ports
Command, Port Harcourt, Rivers, was the
divisional police officer at Ikotun-Egbe at the
time the building collapsed.
He was led in evidence by the trustees counsel,
Mr Oluseye Diyan.
Haruna said: “On that fateful day on September
12, 2014 at 12.30 p.m., there was a radio
communication from the police control room at
Ikeja that they were receiving calls from the
public of an aircraft flying at low altitude over
the church.
“I was directed by the area command to confirm the
incident and monitor the aircraft’s activities.
“I wanted to go out and direct my men to watch out for the
aircraft when I received another report of an airplane flying
at a very low altitude. I went outside but I couldn’t see it,
by that time it had gone.
“I received a call later from Inspector Lucky Ugbaja,
stationed at the church that one of the church’s buildings
had collapsed.”
According to him, the radio room had earlier
radioed the police airport command to confirm
whether it was carrying out any activity in the
church vicinity.
Haruna said when he arrived at the church’s
premises there was a large crowd and the few
policemen there were trying to manage the
situation.
He said onlookers kept trooping in and the crowd
spilled to the roads outside the church, causing
serious gridlock.
“We were overwhelmed,” Haruna told the judge,
adding that he called for more policemen and
were provided.
According to him, the floors of the collapsed
building were lying one on the other, the church
members and others at the scene were engaged
in rescue operations.
“Those I met there were church worshipers; they were
bringing out so many people from under the rubble. Most of
the victims were alive. Some were injured, some were not.
“Later the Red Cross, Life Savers, National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos state Emergency
Management Agency (LASEMA) arrived and joined us in the
rescue.”
He said the rescue mission lasted about seven
days.
During cross-examination by the prosecutor, Dr
Babajide Martins, Haruna insisted that he could
not recall any instance when LASEMA officials or
the then commissioner for Physical Planning, Mr
Toyin Ayinde, were prevented by the church
members from gaining access to the site of the
collapsed building.
He said: “Apart from the LASEMA GM who said he had a
herculean task passing through the crowd, no other had
problems passing through."
When Martins asked him why he concluded that
the rescuers were church members or
worshipers, Haruna said: “Commonsense suggests
that they were.”
Following the prosecution’s application for an
adjournment, Justice Lawal-Akapo adjourned
further proceedings until June 28.
Meanwhile, adegokblog.com had reported that an
Igbosere high court in Lagos on Thursday, March
8, dismissed the no-case submission filed by the
registered trustees of the Synagogue Church of
All Nations (SCOAN) and the two engineers
involved in six-storey building collapse case. (You can visit adegokblog. Blogspot. Com in you internet or Google )
building at Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos, was said to have
occurred after an aircraft flew over the church
- A police officer disclosed this to a Lagos high court
on Friday, May 11
- He testified as a defence witness in the trial of the
registered trustees of the church and four others
An assistant commissioner of police, Mr Alaba
Haruna, on Friday, May 11, told a Lagos high
court that an aircraft flew over Synagogue
Church of All Nations building at Ikotun-Egbe, a
Lagos suburb, just before it collapsed on
September 12, 2014, killing 116 people.
He said one of his patrol teams observed an
aircraft flying low over the church and other
buildings in the premises.
Haruna testified before Justice Lateef Lawal-
Akapo of an Igbosere high court on Lagos Island
as a defence witness in the trial of the registered
trustees of the church and four others.
The church opened its defence in a one-count
charge of building without approval brought
against it by the Lagos state Directorate of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) following the dismissal of its
no-case submission on March 8, 2016.
The other defendants are the two engineers who
built the building: Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and
Akinbela Fatiregun, and their companies,
Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company
and Jandy Trust Ltd.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
Haruna, area commander of the Eastern Ports
Command, Port Harcourt, Rivers, was the
divisional police officer at Ikotun-Egbe at the
time the building collapsed.
He was led in evidence by the trustees counsel,
Mr Oluseye Diyan.
Haruna said: “On that fateful day on September
12, 2014 at 12.30 p.m., there was a radio
communication from the police control room at
Ikeja that they were receiving calls from the
public of an aircraft flying at low altitude over
the church.
“I was directed by the area command to confirm the
incident and monitor the aircraft’s activities.
“I wanted to go out and direct my men to watch out for the
aircraft when I received another report of an airplane flying
at a very low altitude. I went outside but I couldn’t see it,
by that time it had gone.
“I received a call later from Inspector Lucky Ugbaja,
stationed at the church that one of the church’s buildings
had collapsed.”
According to him, the radio room had earlier
radioed the police airport command to confirm
whether it was carrying out any activity in the
church vicinity.
Haruna said when he arrived at the church’s
premises there was a large crowd and the few
policemen there were trying to manage the
situation.
He said onlookers kept trooping in and the crowd
spilled to the roads outside the church, causing
serious gridlock.
“We were overwhelmed,” Haruna told the judge,
adding that he called for more policemen and
were provided.
According to him, the floors of the collapsed
building were lying one on the other, the church
members and others at the scene were engaged
in rescue operations.
“Those I met there were church worshipers; they were
bringing out so many people from under the rubble. Most of
the victims were alive. Some were injured, some were not.
“Later the Red Cross, Life Savers, National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos state Emergency
Management Agency (LASEMA) arrived and joined us in the
rescue.”
He said the rescue mission lasted about seven
days.
During cross-examination by the prosecutor, Dr
Babajide Martins, Haruna insisted that he could
not recall any instance when LASEMA officials or
the then commissioner for Physical Planning, Mr
Toyin Ayinde, were prevented by the church
members from gaining access to the site of the
collapsed building.
He said: “Apart from the LASEMA GM who said he had a
herculean task passing through the crowd, no other had
problems passing through."
When Martins asked him why he concluded that
the rescuers were church members or
worshipers, Haruna said: “Commonsense suggests
that they were.”
Following the prosecution’s application for an
adjournment, Justice Lawal-Akapo adjourned
further proceedings until June 28.
Meanwhile, adegokblog.com had reported that an
Igbosere high court in Lagos on Thursday, March
8, dismissed the no-case submission filed by the
registered trustees of the Synagogue Church of
All Nations (SCOAN) and the two engineers
involved in six-storey building collapse case. (You can visit adegokblog. Blogspot. Com in you internet or Google )
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