Synagogue Building Collapse : The Full Gist

 

The death toll from last Friday’s collapsed five-storey building owned by the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, in Ikotun area of Lagos State, rose to 44, yesterday. 25 bodies were recovered by rescue workers from the rubble.

On the other hand, six persons, all women, were reportedly rescued alive, thereby raising the number of survivors to 139.

Meantime, the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, while condoling with General Overseer of the church, Prophet Temitope Joshua and members of the church, advised that staff and members of the church, should allow emergency workers could do their work. Fashola gave the advice when he visited the scene, yesterday.

T. B Joshua, yesterday, played a footage of the collapsed building as allegedly captured by the Church’s Close Circuit Television, CCTV, camera to his congregation.

The footage showed that the building, which served as a guest house where people with varying ailments from within and outside the country put up, caved in at exactly 12.44pm. This was shortly after an airplane which was captured while hovering round the church’s premises left.

Joshua narrated how he left ‘prayer mountain’ where he ‘lives’ to return to the church, only to be alerted by a telephone call, in which the caller told him that a plane was hovering around the church’s premises. The structure was initially a two-storey building before it was converted to a five-storey edifice. Those who were trapped under the debris included foreigners, some kitchen staff and construction workers.

Joshua, later conducted the governor and his entourage round the site after an earlier brief, closed door meeting.

While, addressing his congregation during yesterday’s service, Joshua said: “I know this is not the right time to talk. I will just say a little because I don’t want to interfere with the job of security personnel.

“First, I received a call  that there was a jet hovering around the mountain (the church) which I just left  at very close range. Later, I was informed that the plane in question was flying dangerously low over a particular building within the church premises. This is to tell you we have a stable terrain in this area. I have been in this community for the past 30 years and no building has ever collapsed here.

“I know you will ask me why Synagogue? Don’t forget the spiritual blessing that God has bestowed on us? A big head wears a large hat. They are trying to scare you from coming to this church. Don’t be scared, you are not the target, I am the target. I know my hour has not yet come. I have not yet finished my job. There is no compromise in what we do at all. I am going to leave this for you to judge. I want to assure you that our God will get back at them – the agents of Satan.

“The reason I am showing you this is for you to know the God you are serving. God wants to reveal to you what He has been doing that you don’t know about. I know that faithless attendees may likely stop visiting this church”, he said.

He, however, assured that effort was in top gear to rescue the remaining trapped victims, even as he described those who lost their lives in the tragic incident as people of faith who knew the God they served.