Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday said that his
administration would enforce the verdict of the Coroner’s inquest on the September 12, 2014 Synagogue building collapse in consonance with
the rule of law.
Ambode in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna, said his government would uphold and enforce the sanctity of the law in the state, just as he urged residents of the state to also
respect the rule of Law.
“His Excellency hereby reiterates his government’s commitment to uphold and enforce the sanctity of the law in the state and calls on all Lagos resident to respect the rule of law,” the statement read in part.
To this end, he said the Coroner’s verdict of 7th July 2015 made a number of recommendations, which the state government will act upon
accordingly.
The governor said that one of the provisions of the Coroner Law 2007 is
the provision that empowers a Coroner to commence an inquest to find out the cause and manner of death which occur in an unusual manner.
It would be recalled that over 100 people, mainly South Africans, died when a guest house in owned by the church collapsed.
Ambode noted that consequent upon the collapse at the premises of Synagogue Church building, the state government applied that a coroner’s inquest be commenced into the cause of the tragic deaths.
The Governor said the state government “Will cause the prosecution of
the contractor, Engineer Akinbela Fatiregun of Hardrock Engineering
Company Limited and Structural Engineer, Oladele Ogundeji who constructed and supervised the collapsed building respectively at the Synagogue Church of All Nations for professional negligence”.
The state government will also prosecute the Synagogue Church of All Nations for failing to obtain building approval before construction, contrary to the provisions of the Urban and Regional Planning and
Development Law 2010.
The Guardian