BREAKING NEWS, Crime
–
Lawal Pedro, solicitor general of Lagos State, insists that the two engineers who were indicted by the state coroner findings must be prosecuted for their part in the collapse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations on September 12, 2014
LAGOS State government has insisted that the two engineers who handled the construction of the collapsed Synagogue Church of All Nations’ six-storey guest house must be prosecuted. At the resumed proceedings on Monday, August 3, Lawal Pedro, solicitor general of Lagos State, said the engineers’ prayer against arrest was not about their fundamental human rights but aimed at quashing the verdict of the coroner which found them culpable.
Pedro, who is also challenging the jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate over the suit, said since the respondents were not agencies of the federal government they were not subjected to the authority of the federal high court where the engineers filed their suit. He described the suit as a gross abuse of court processes.
He asked the court to determine whether the engineers had put sufficient material facts before it to establish that their fundamental human rights had been or were about to be breached as they had claimed.
Justice Mohammed Idris of the federal high court, adjourned till September 30, 2015, to hear the preliminary objection.
Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, the two structural engineers, had gone to court to seek an order quashing the verdict of the coroner’s inquest which advised the state government to prosecute them for criminal negligence.
They are seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Lagos State attorney-general or any officer under his authority from initiating or commencing criminal proceedings against them on the basis of the coroner’s verdict that indicted them of criminal negligence. They also pray the court to stop the police from arresting and investigating them based on the verdict of the coroner.
In a suit filed before a federal high court in Lagos, the engineers are seeking outright dismissal of the coroner’s findings and recommendations. They are also seeking the protection of the court from police arrest in recognition of their rights in sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution. Olalekan Ojo, their counsel, addressed the court on July 22, and succeeded in getting a court order to suspend all actions until the suit filed by the engineers was determined.
The coroner, after the inquest on July 8, declared that contrary to the claim by the SCOAN that the collapsed building was sabotaged, found that structural defect was responsible for the collapse of the building. Oyetade Komolafe, the coroner, held the engineers liable for the death of the 116 persons who perished in the September 12, 2014, tragic incident and recommended them for prosecution. Those who died in the collapsed building included 85 South Africans, 22 Nigerians, two Beninoise, one Togolese and six unidentified persons. Sixty of the victims were males while 56 were females.
— Aug 4, 2015 @ 14:30 GMT
|
Tags:
