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

Sympathisers of Prophet T.B Joshua
yesterday marched 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.