Ikeja - The Police on Thursday said it was still investigating the
recent collapse of a guest house within the Synagogue Church of All
Nations to ascertain whether it was due to sabotage.
CSP Haruna Alaba, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ikotun Police
Station, disclosed this while testifying before the Coroner's Inquest
into the cause of the collapse of the six-storey building.
116 people were killed in the incident which occurred on September 12.
Led in evidence by Chukwu Agwu, the Police counsel, the DPO said that
the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the building warranted
the police to explore all possible angles.
Alaba said after watching a video clip of controlled demolition of
buildings shown on Emmanuel TV, he was of the opinion that the
Synagogue incident could have been an act of sabotage.
According to him, with the low level of security awareness, it could
have been possible for somebody to plant a bomb within the church's
premises.
The witness said the investigation was being conducted by DSP Olusola
Agboyi from the Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, Lagos.
Alaba told the inquest presided over by Oyetade Komolafe, that he
could not remember whether the Bomb Disposal Unit visited the scene
after the incident.
When cross examined Olalekan Ojo, the church's counsel, the DPO said
that on the day of the incident, the police got a distress call that an
aircraft was flying low around the Ikotun area.
"My Lord, the aircraft was flying at a very low altitude. From Ikotun
angle, we see aircrafts flying almost every day but it is usually at a
high altitude.
"However, this particular one was flying very low and that was why
they called our control room," the DPO added.
He said a few hours later, one of his officers assigned to the
Synagogue Church called him that one of the buildings within the
church had collapsed.
According to him, he immediately moved to the church with some
officers and barricaded the two entrances to prevent hoodlums from
taking advantage of the situation.
"On that day, people were confused. There was panic and that was
why the police barricaded the entrances to the scene.
"The barricade was not to prevent or delay emergency response
agencies from performing their duties," he said.
Alaba also debunked claims by the Lagos State Emergency Management
Agency (LASEMA) and National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) that their officials were assaulted.
He said both agencies came to the scene without an ambulance, adding
that the church provided 11 ambulances while the Nigerian Red Cross
Society and Life Savers provided one each.
Meanwhile, the coroner on Thursday ordered that the founder of the
church, Prophet Temitope Joshua, should appear before the court to
give evidence.
Joshua was earlier slated to appear on Nov. 5, but his counsel told the
court that the prophet was yet to be served with the witness
summons.
Komolafe also directed the church to produce the Closed Circuit
Television (CCTV) footage of the collapsed scene from September 12
to September 19.
He also ordered the DPO to submit a certified true copy of the Ikotun
Police Station register of the incident to the court.
The inquest was adjourned till November 19 for further hearing.
- NAN
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