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Court to hear suit on coroners ruling against The Synagogue

By Editor
15 October 2015   |   5:25 am
THE Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Honourable Justice Buba will on Monday October 19, 2015 hear a suit challenging the Lagos State Government’s steps to enforce the recent Coroner’s indictment of The Synagogue Church of all Nations. On September 12, 2014, 116 Nigerians and foreigners died in a building collapse disaster at…
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TB Joshua

THE Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Honourable Justice Buba will on Monday October 19, 2015 hear a suit challenging the Lagos State Government’s steps to enforce the recent Coroner’s indictment of The Synagogue Church of all Nations.

On September 12, 2014, 116 Nigerians and foreigners died in a building collapse disaster at the church. There were local and international calls for a thorough investigation and possible prosecution to give justice to the victims.
After over a year of legal twists and turns, the coroner’s inquest into the disaster delivered a ruling which among others indicted the church for criminal negligence and recommended that it be prosecuted.

Consequently, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode pledged to enforce the verdict to the letter, vowing to seek justice for the victims. He ordered law enforcement agencies to immediately arrest the indicted persons and enforce the verdict.

But to forestall the enforcement, the indicted engineers of the church approached the Federal High Court seeking the enforcement of their fundamental rights to fair hearing, human dignity and personal liberty under Sections 34, 35 and 36 of the Constitution

They claim that the Nigerian Police, Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) and the Lagos State Government (Respondents) will act upon the coroner’s findings by proceeding to arrest, investigate and/or prosecute them for criminal negligence. They are therefore seeking for a nullification of the coroner’s verdict, perpetual injunction restraining the Nigerian Police from arresting or interrogating them as well as a perpetual injunction restraining COREN from causing them to appear before any investigatory or disciplinary panel.
The state government has filed a counter-affidavit and preliminary objections to the suit contending among other things that Synagogue Church was granted audience at the Coroner’s Court and availed the opportunity of tendering their depositions and making oral evidence and that the Coroner did not issue a “judicial indictment” on the applicants but made recommendations that they be investigated and if found culpable, prosecuted for criminal negligence. 

Lagos State also filed a notice of preliminary objection on grounds that the engineers’ complaints were to challenge the coroner’s verdict and not for enforcement of their fundamental human rights and that the court lacked the jurisdiction to adjudicate over the suit since the respondents are not agencies of the Federal Government.

However, sources at the Lagos State Ministry of Justice disclosed that in line with Ambode’s pledge to the citizens, the government will pursue the enforcement of the coroners verdict to its logical conclusion to ensure that the victims get justice.

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