The Registered Trustees of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, founded by Prophet TB Joshua, have commenced a fresh action to stop their criminal prosecution by the Lagos State Government.
They approached Justice Kazeem Alogba of a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja to stop their proposed arraignment before Justice Lawal Lateef-Akapo of the same court.
The state had filed 111 counts against the Registered Trustees of SCOAN, two engineers and two companies over the death of 116 persons on September 12, 2014 when a six-storey building collapsed on the premises of SCOAN in the Ikotun area of Lagos State.
The arraignment of the accused had been scheduled for Tuesday (tomorrow) before Justice Lawal-Akapo.
But in their fresh action, the applicants have urged Justice Alogba to call for the record of proceedings of a Lagos State Coroner Court, presided over by Mr. Oyetade Komolafe, which indicted them and recommended them for criminal prosecutions.
Komolafe, who conducted an inquest into the death of the 116 victims of the SCOAN’s building collapse, had on July 8, 2015 decided that the building which killed them was built without approval, adding that its collapse was due to structural defect.
But SCOAN and its engineers, Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, had rejected the verdict, describing it as unreasonable and one-sided.
In their fresh suit before Justice Alogba, they are seeking a judicial review of the coroner’s proceedings, for the purpose of quashing it.
They are also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Attorney General of Lagos State, Adeniji Kazeem, or any officer under his authority from taking any step to enforce the recommendations of the coroner, including their prosecution.
They also sought an order setting aside the charge dated November 9, 2015 and numbered ID/1759C/15 filed against them on the premise of the verdict of the coroner court.
In their 14 grounds of relief, the applicants’ counsel, led by Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), argued that Alimosho Coroner’s District, presided over by Komolafe, does not exist, as it was not listed in the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law, 2007.
“A court which is unknown to its enabling law is an illegality and cannot validly preside over any proceedings or make any findings and or recommendation.
“Any finding, recommendation and verdict delivered or rendered by an illegal court such as Coroner’s Court Alimosho District is a nullity and liable to be quashed by this court acting pursuant to its power under judicial review,” Fagbemi argued.
Justice Alogba has adjourned till February 4, 2016 to hear the suit.
Earlier in September last year, Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos had dismissed two fundamental rights enforcement actions by the engineers to squash the coroner’s verdict and prevent their arraignment.
The engineer, through their lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, had however gone to appeal the judgment.
They subsequently obtained an order restraining the state from prosecuting them pending the outcome of the appeal.
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