Two of the engineers involved in the construction of the collapsed Synagogue Church of All Nations which claimed 116 lives and caused a furore around pastor TB Joshua will go on trial on June 3.
The trial into the collapse of the six-storey guesthouse‚ which claimed the lives of 85 South Africans on a pilgrimage‚ stalled again on Wednesday.
Charges of criminal negligence‚ manslaughter and failure to obtain a building permit are being faced by Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun – the engineers who built the building - their companies and the trustees of the church which collapsed on September 12‚ 2014. They are being prosecuted by the Lagos State Government in Nigeria.
The defence team previously objected to evidence being led by the prosecution’s first witness‚ because they did not have a copy of the witness statement.
The court heard on Wednesday that the evidence had been given to the defence‚ but they needed more time to study it‚ according to This Day newspaper.
Joshua refused to give evidence at an earlier coroner’s inquest‚ despite multiple court summonses. He claimed the collapse was caused by an aircraft above the building. But a coroner attributed the tragedy to the unauthorised addition of extra floors to the building. - TMG Digital
Opinion: Nigerian judicial processes can be too slow. Justice delayed is justice denied. Our thoughts are with the relatives of those that perished on the collapsed building. No one knows when the matter would be brought to closure. Hope that Synagogue Church at least paid some sort of compensation etc.
C.V.Akuta Media UK.
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