The coroner’s inquest into the cause of the collapsed
building at The Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, continued Tuesday with
a pathologist accusing the church of delaying the identification of corpses.
John Obafunwa, the Chief Examiner at the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital, told the coroner that the church was yet to
respond to their request for a list of people missing after the incident.
“It is in the interest of everybody that we have that list,”
Mr. Obafunwa, a professor of Forensic Medicine, said.
“We don’t want a situation whereby somebody will come
forward and say ‘I lost a relation’ and meanwhile that relation never existed.
I don’t want to run into trouble.”
Mr. Obafunwa said that 116 bodies were deposited in three
state owned mortuaries across the state and that all the samples had been
shipped to the laboratory where DNA analysis will be conducted.
However, only five families had shown up for identification,
according to the pathologist.
“It is true we are working closely with the South African
Department of Health. They are assisting with the collection of reference
samples. We are moving closer to the end of the process,” Mr. Obafunwa said.
“Why we had only five (families) from here could be that we
have fewer Nigerians, could be that some people are still unaware.
“But one thing is key: the missing persons list. We need it
to know who and who we are going to be looking for.”
During cross examination, a South African national who said
he lost his wife in the collapse requested for a “specific date” when the
bodies would be ready.
“It is extremely painful for me and my family to be waiting
for a month and half to bury my wife. Is there any way you can give us a
specific date for the collection of the body? The man asked the pathologist.
“Whatever it is standing in the way of getting the body,
please remove it.”
In his response, Mr. Obafunwa also said that the autopsy
report should be ready by the second week of November.
“Whatever we are doing is in conformity with international
protocols. Bodies need to be identified before it is released,” said Mr.
Obafunwa.
“Once a positive identification is made, we move from
numbers to specific individuals and there will be nothing to stop collection.
It will happen regardless of how long the inquest takes.”
The capacity- filled court room also had the South African
High Commissioner in attendance.
Outside the court premises, church members stood with
placards protesting the innocence of T.B Joshua, the church’s founder.
“T.B Joshua, hold your peace. We are your voice;’ ‘What
about the unidentified aircraft?’ ‘Don’t drive T.B Joshua out of Nigeria by
your actions in this matter,’ some of the placards read.
Ibrahim Farinloye, Head of Operations, Search and Rescue at
the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, told the coroner that emergency
responders were prevented from their duties until Sunday evening.
He said it took the intervention of Governor Babatunde
Fashola before the church allowed them to participate in rescue efforts, more
than two days after the collapse.
“We were not allowed to do anything,” said Mr. Farinloye,
who is also NEMA’s South West Spokesperson.
“On the first day, one or two people (church members) stayed
with us to ensure we don’t move around. We were nearly attacked.
“At 6.45 p.m., we decided to move out because if we stayed
there, we might be attacked.”
On the Saturday after the incident, Mr. Farinloye said that
he told a NEMA director in Abuja about the development and was advised to just
stay within the church’s premises.
Mr. Farinloye admitted that about 11 ambulances were already
participating in rescue efforts when he arrived the scene of the incident on
the first day.
He, however, said that NEMA was a statutory agency mandated
to mobilise resources with respect to distress alerts.
The coroner’s inquest continues on Wednesday.
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