News

Synagogue Building Collapse: Police Chief Says Aircraft Flew Low over Building

Published

5 years ago

May 12, 2018

Eric

An Assistant Commissioner of Police, Alaba Haruna, on Friday told a Lagos High Court that an aircraft flew over Synagogue Church of All Nations building at Ikotun-Egbe, a Lagos suburb, just before it collapsed on September 12, 2014, killing 116 people.

He said one of his patrol teams observed an aircraft flying low over the church and other buildings in the premises.

Mr Haruna testified before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of an Igbosere High Court on Lagos Island as a defence witness in the trial of the registered trustees of the church and four others.

The church opened its defence in a one-count charge of building without approval brought against it by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) following the dismissal of its no-case submission on March 8, 2016.

The other defendants are the two engineers who built the building: Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, and their companies, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Ltd.

Apart from the trustees’ one-count charge, the other defendants are facing a 110-count bordering on involuntary manslaughter.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Haruna, Area Commander of the Eastern Ports Command, Port Harcourt, Rivers, was the Divisional Police Officer at Ikotun-Egbe at the time the building collapsed.

He was led in evidence by the trustees counsel, Oluseye Diyan.

Mr Haruna said: “On that fateful day on September 12, 2014 at 12.30 p.m., there was a radio communication from the police control room at Ikeja that they were receiving calls from the public of an aircraft flying at low altitude over the church.

“I was directed by the Area Command to confirm the incident and monitor the aircraft’s activities.

“I wanted to go out and direct my men to watch out for the aircraft when I received another report of an airplane flying at a very low altitude. I went outside but I couldn’t see it, by that time it had gone.

“I received a call later from Insp. Lucky Ugbaja, stationed at the church that one of the church’s buildings had collapsed.”

According to him, the radio room had earlier radioed the Police Airport Command to confirm whether it was carrying out any activity in the church vicinity.

Mr Haruna said when he arrived at the church’s premises there was a large crowd and the few police officers there were trying to manage the situation.

He said onlookers kept trooping in and the crowd spilled to the roads outside the church, causing serious gridlock.

“We were overwhelmed,” Mr Haruna told the judge, adding that he called for more police officers and were provided.

According to him, the floors of the collapsed building were lying one on the other, “the church members and others at the scene were engaged in rescue operations.

“Those I met there were church worshipers; they were bringing out so many people from under the rubble. Most of the victims were alive. Some were injured, some were not.

“Later the Red Cross, Life Savers, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) arrived and joined us in the rescue.”

He said the rescue mission lasted about seven days.

During cross-examination by the prosecutor, Babajide Martins, Mr Haruna insisted that he could not recall any instance when LASEMA officials or the then Commissioner for Physical Planning, Toyin Ayinde, were prevented by the church members from gaining access to the site of the collapsed building.

He said:“Apart from the LASEMA GM who said he had a herculean task passing through the crowd, no other had problems passing through.

When Mr Martins asked him why he concluded that the rescuers were church members or worshipers, Haruna said: “Commonsense suggests that they were.”

Following the prosecution’s application for an adjournment, Mr Lawal-Akapo adjourned further proceedings until June 28.

(NAN)

News

Adeleke Cancels Independence Day Celebration in Osun

Published

24 hours ago

September 29, 2023

Eric

Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has cancelled celebration of Independence Day slated for Sunday, October 1 in the state.

His spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, announced on Friday in Osogbo that the governor urged residents of the State to pray for the peace and prosperity of the country.

“Let us use the Independence Day to meditate and pray on the state of our nation.

“Our people are passing through tough times. It is time to take stock and seek divine intervention and guidance in the affairs of our nation.

“I greet Osun people and Nigerians in general as the Independence Day knocks at our doors.

“Here in Osun, we will celebrate with meditation and prayers,” he said.

News

Mohbad: Sam Larry Now in Our Custody, Police Confirm

Published

2 days ago

September 29, 2023

Eric

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, aka Sam Larry, over an ongoing investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of the singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.

The Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the development to The Punch in a late Thursday night telephone interview.

“Yes, Balogun Eletu aka Sam Larry is now in our custody. He is currently assisting with the ongoing investigation,” Hundeyin said.

The police had earlier invited Sam Larry and singer, Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, for questioning over Mohbad’s demise.

The police, last week, also confirmed that pathologists had concluded the autopsy conducted on Mohbad, while they await the result.

He said, “Autopsy has been concluded. Awaiting results.” This development followed the exhumation of Mohbad by a combined team of the Nigeria Police Force and health officials.

The police had also arrested the nurse who reportedly injected the deceased singer before his demise on Tuesday, September 12.

The Punch

News

Kaduna: Tribunal Affirms Sani’s Election, Dismisses PDP’s Petition

Published

2 days ago

September 28, 2023

Eric

The Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna has dismissed petition brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the 2023 election, Isah Ashiru, against the victory of Governor Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, in a dissenting judgment of two against one, delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel headed by Justice Victor Oviawie dismissed the petition on the ground that the pre-hearing notice was filed out of time, and therefore deemed to be abandoned.

The tribunal chairman and another member held that the appeal brought by PDP and Ashiru against the dismissal of their petition at the preliminary stage by the first and second defendants was not meritorious because the filing of the pre-hearing notice was abandoned and out of time, and therefore had dealt the entire petition a fatal blow.

The tribunal, however, noted that if the petition had not been dismissed for lack of merit, it would have ordered a supplementary election in 22 polling units within 90 days in the substantive judgment.

Senator Sani, during the election polled a total of 730,001 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ashiru of the PDP, who scored 719, 196 votes.

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Jonathan Asake, came third with 58,283 votes, while Suleiman Hunkuyi of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) scored 21,405 votes.

While the Labour Party and NNPP accepted the outcome of the election, the PDP and its candidate rejected the results, alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the wrong candidate winner of the election.

Besides, the PDP and Ashiru alleged that there were massive irregularities and manipulation of results in favour of Governor Ubah in some local governments by INEC. According to them, the APC candidate did not score the highest number of valid votes cast in the election and ought not to have been returned winner of the election by INEC.

In June 2023, PDP and Ashiru, however, filed a petition at the election petition tribunal to challenge the election of Governor Uba.

At the last sitting of the court on September 3rd, all parties presented their final written addresses before the tribunal, with APC’s legal team led by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bayo Ojo (SAN), arguing that the petitioners had helped in proving he won the election free and fair, pointing in particular to the admission of a star witness for the petitioner, Bonett Gwazah, a senior system analyst in the VR/ICT department of INEC in Kaduna State.