Collapsed Building Inquest: Sympathisers Match To Court Carrying Placards To Exonerate TB Joshua

Sympathisers of Prophet T.B Joshua yesterday matched to Ikeja High Court carrying placards with various inscriptions saying T.B Joshua has committed no offence and should be exonerated.

As the court sat, none of the family members of those who lost their lives were present, but  representatives from the Lagos State government, the SCOAN, the Red Cross and some members of the civil society were all in attendance.

The presiding magistrate, Mr Oyetade Komolafe commiserated with the families of those who lost their loved ones before the court began proper.  “We all have the same interest here, as we are all Africans. What happened in SCOAN can happen anywhere in the world. I commiserate with the families of those who lost loved ones in the unfortunate incident, but I am appealing to the families of the deceased to make themselves available for DNA tests, so that the bodies can be adequately identified. We are not after any booty, as it were as things most be done according to the law, without sacrificing justice on the altar of speed. This inquest in aimed at finding the root cause of the incident and give recommendations to avert further occurrences.

“I empathise with the families of the victims, but I want to seize this opportunity to state the importance of the DNA to this inquest. The medical team and pathologists are working because the court has directed them to carry out the activities and report back. It is important for the South African Embassy to ensure that relatives of the victims come forward for the pathologists to get the needed samples to compare with the bodies. The corpses have to be properly identified and when that is done and the process completed, the bodies would be released to the South African government,” he said.

The case was adjourned to October 24.