Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on November 10, 2014

Synagogue Church | credits: File copy

A Federal High Court in Lagos will next Monday, November 17, 2014, give judgment in a suit seeking to quash the ongoing inquest into the September 12 Synagogue building collapse.

A guest house in the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations had collapsed on September 12, killing about 116 persons, mostly South Africans who were on spiritual pilgrimage to the SCOAN.

Justice Ibrahim Buba on Monday reserved judgment till next week after entertaining arguments from the applicant and the respondents in the suit.

A Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, had filed the suit, challenging the legality of the coroners inquest and asking that further proceedings should be stopped.

Respondents in the suit are the Lagos State Government; the states Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye; and the coroner, Magistrate O. A. Komolafe.

Moving his applications on Monday, Ogungbeje argued that the inquest was constituted in negation of the principle of natural justice as prescribed by Section 36 of the countrys Constitution.

Ogungbeje, who stated that the coroners inquest was a judicial investigation, argued that Lagos State could not be a judge in its own case.

The lawyer noted that while the suit was pending in court, government agencies had already testified before the coroner and upheld their earlier assertion prior the inquest that the collapsed building had no approval.

He argued that there would be a miscarriage of justice since the verdict of the coroner would be based on such testimonies, which he said were prejudicial.

See the article here:

Synagogue: Court fixes ruling in suit opposing inquest

Category: Synagogue
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