A State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, March 11, 2021, adjourned the suit against the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, on the building collapse in Church premises five years ago.
The presiding Judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, at the resumed sitting at the Ikeja High Court, Lagos, adjourned the adoption of final written addresses of the Counsels on the Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed building suit to May 27, 2021. The Judge explained that he has a lot of judgements to write at this period. He disclosed that he has eight judgements to write before the Easter break, noting that he does not just want to write judgements, but wants to write judgements that will stand the test of time.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the court was formally briefed and served a copy of the death certificate of the 5th defendant, Engr. Akinbola Fatiregun, one of the engineers earlier released on bail but who died in October 2020.
The Lagos State Government had charged SCOAN over the building collapse which killed 116 worshippers of the Church on September 12, 2014.
The defendants currently left in the suit are Engineer Oladele Ogundeji and companies; Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited.
They are facing trial on 110-count charge of involuntary manslaughter, while the Registered Trustees of SCOAN were charged for building a house without approval.
The Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions had accused the defendants of violating Section 75 of the Urban and Regional Planning Law of Lagos State, 2010, as well as Section 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The Prosecution Director was represented at the Thursday sitting by the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Titi Shita-Bey, and two lswyers, who include I.N. Gbadamosi, Principal State Counsel, and a Senior Counsel.
The defendants were arraigned on April 19, 2016, but they pleaded not guilty.
At the resumed hearing of the trial on Thursday some applications for regularization were moved and granted without objections.
The presidung Judge appealed to the counsels to bear with him for not adopting the written address at the sitting. According to him: “It is not convenient for me to take the adoption of final written addresses because of the workload in this court.”
Thereafter, Justice Lawal-Akapo adjourned the case to May 27, 2021, for adoption and final written addresses.
On December 20, 2019, the defendants closed their case, after the cross examination of their last witness by the prosecution.
The state had declared the defendants violated Section 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011, as well as Section 75 of the Urban and Regional Planning Law of Lagos State 2010.
Adoption of final written addresses in the five-year-old trial was earlier scheduled for July 2020 but adjourned to September 24, 2020.
The legal team of the SCOAN at the Thursday resumed sitting include Mr. E Akpofure SAN, Mrs. Titi Akinlawon SAN, Olalekan Ojo SAN, Oluseye Diyan, as well as five other counsels.