Nigeria: I Have Not Been Served Witness Summons, Says T.B Joshua

The founder and Senior Pastor of the Synagogue Church of All Nation (SCOAN), Prophet T.B. Joshua, on Wednesday told the coroner's inquest investigating the circumstances which led to the collapse of a six-storey guest house belonging to the church that the court has not served any witness summon on him to warrant his coming to testify.

Joshua, who was one of the witnesses expected to appear before the inquest, but was absent, disclosed this through counsel to the church, Mr. Olalekan Ojo.

The coroner's inquest presided over by Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, was constituted by the Lagos State Government under the state Coroner's System Law No.7 of 2007 to investigate the cause and circumstances leading to the death of 166 people following the collapse of the six-storey guest house, and bring its findings and recommendations to the appropriate authorities.

Ojo said he had to volunteer the information to the coroner to prevent a public misconception that Prophet T.B Joshua dishonoured the court by not appearing after he had been served.

He also told the court he was aware that Sheriff was in the church to serve the pastor but could not because the pastor was unavoidably absent to be served.

"On Friday, when he was to be served, he was not available. The prophet being the chief mourner was contacting the families of those who lost their lives.

"I was called that the baillif was around. I learnt he merely gave the summons to an evangelist or one of the workers. I advised that whoever was given the summons to should sign to acknowledge its receipt," Ojo said.

"What I have done is out of abundance of caution and as an officer of the court. I submit that service on counsel in a criminal matter is not provided for in the Administration of Criminal Justice Law. I am not backed by law to accept witness summons meant for another person."

Ojo explained that since that was not done, it implied that Joshua was not served the summons.

Responding to Ojo, Komolafe said he had no reason not to believe the information given by the counsel.

Komolafe said though he had respect for Joshua as a prophet, yet the man must be obedient to the laws of the land.

He also reiterated the need for the prophet to appear before him, adding that no one is being persecuted or prosecuted.

The coroner also said the court would do the needful to ensure Joshua was served but he insisted that the he must not fail to appear.

"As the chief mourner, I will not want to inflict more pain on him, but he should help himself by appearing before the inquest," Komolafe said.

Ojo also informed the court that the collapsed building contractor, who was also to appear before the court today had also not been served because nobody knew his address.

But the coroner requested Ojo to help get the necessary information on the contractor to enable him to be served. The lawyer obliged but pleaded for time.

Earlier, the General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Agency(LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, testified that the rescue efforts were delayed and negatively affected because of the some resistance faced when rescuers were trying to access the scene of the collapse.

Oke-Osanyintolu said the followers of Joshua attacked emergency service workers, preventing them from accessing the site of a deadly building collapse.

"The first three days (after the collapse) were marred by the so-called church sympathisers and the crowd," he said.

"By the time we attained momentum after 96 hours a lot of things had gone bad." Osanyintolu told the hearing that it was only after the intervention of the Lagos State governor that rescue workers could get to the stricken building on the sprawling SCOAN compound.

The LASEMA general manager said there was "no effective crowd control" in the aftermath of the collapse, which engineers have blamed on the addition of extra floors to the guesthouse.

"The crowd impeded our operation. They did not allow our personnel and equipment to come in. They frustrated the emergency workers at the scene," he added.

"Instead of allowing trained rescue workers with specialist equipment to search for survivors, only church members and volunteers were allowed to pick through the rubble," he said.

"There were restrictions of emergency responders to the scene of the collapse. On the first day, we were assaulted, especially my humble self," he continued.

"We were not allowed to do documentation. Photographs of the incident were not allowed.

"We asked for the manifest to know the number and identities of the people in the building, we were not given. We asked for the building plan, we were not given."

Expert witnesses at the hearing had previously ruled out sabotage from a low-flying aircraft or an explosion, as suggested by Joshua and SCOAN members.

Osanyintolu, a medical doctor, also rejected the theory: "On observation, bodies were not mutilated. They were not disjointed... the bodies were not burned."

While also been cross-examined by Chukwu Agwu, counsel to the police, Osanyintolu maintained: "I agree that there is need to effectively screen people to ascertain genuine rescue team workers.

"We recovered 80 dead bodies and I will not be surprised to hear that the Chief Medical Examiner (CME) told the court that 116 dead bodies were recovered.

"The two ambulances brought by LASEMA were grossly insufficient to convey corpses to the hospital. There was no need to call for more ambulances because the church provided more ambulances," he explained.

Source:ThisDay