Church collapse hearing adjourned
LAGOS: A high court in Ikeja, presided over by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, on Friday struck off an application seeking a stay of proceedings in the criminal charges against the registered trustees of the Synagogue Church of All Nations and four others.
Justice Lawal-Akapo struck off the application after the disclosure by the defendants of their intention to withdraw the application.
The Lagos State government had slated the charges.
The charges relate to the collapse of a six-storey building within the premises of the church in the Ikotun Egbe suburb of Lagos in September 2014 killing 116 people, mainly South Africans, who had gone there for worship and healing.
The five defendants on the charge sheet are the trustees of the church, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company, Jandy Trust Limited and engineers Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun.
Their arraignment had been stalled because of their application for a stay of proceedings, dated February 18.
But when the case was called on Friday, the defendants withdrew the application giving the dismissal of their other application for a stay of proceedings before the Court of Appeal as the reason.
Titilola Akinlawon, the counsel to the third and fourth defendants, told the court of the dismissal of her clients’ application for a stay of pro- ceedings by the Court of Appeal.
Akinlawon said in view of the development, her clients were constrained to withdraw their application for a stay of proceedings filed before Justice Lawal-Akapo.
Counsel to Olalekan Ojo agreed with Akinlawon’s submission.
They both told the court that they had filed another application to challenge the competence of the charges filed against their clients.
The Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Idowu Alakija, in her response said she was not opposed to the defendant’s request to withdraw their applications for a stay of proceedings, confirming that she had been served with the defendants’ fresh application seeking to quash the charges.
Justice Lawal-Akapo adjourned the matter to March 22, to hear the fresh application.