Nigerian Prophet Temitope Joshua has launched a scathing attack against the verdict of the coroner\u2019s court in Lagos which ruled that the tragic collapse of a building within his church last year was due to structural failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) rejects the verdict of the coroner on the grounds that it is unreasonable, one-sided and biased,\u201d a statement released via their official Facebook page read, attributed to Barr. Olalekan Ojo, lead counsel to The SCOAN. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe church maintains its stand that the incident was as a result of sabotage,\u201d the statement continued, further adding that the public should not be misled by media reports casting sensational headlines suggesting the church was liable for prosecution over \u2018criminal negligence\u2019.<\/p>\n
The statement highlighted that no evidence was found that The SCOAN hired incompetent professionals or used substandard materials in the construction of the building. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no finding that connected the incident with the lack of a building permit,\u201d the statement proceeded, adding that the process of procuring the necessary approval was well underway and had been assessed and accepted by relevant government agencies before the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe church disagrees most vehemently with the finding that the incident was due to structural failure,\u201d continued the strongly worded statement, insisting the verdict failed to consider substantial evidence which pointed to sabotage and ruled out structural failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a one-sided verdict which left many issues unaddressed and questions unanswered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The SCOAN highlighted that the verdict failed to even recognise the CCTV footage released by the church which showed \u201cthe 6-storey building falling in less than four seconds \u2013 a manner consistent with controlled or externally induced demolition\u201d.<\/p>\n
It concluded by stating that Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe\u2019s admission \u201cthat the conduct of the investigation of the incident was compromised… calls into question the integrity and reliability of the entire investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joshua\u2019s supporters were vocal in their support of the \u2018prophet\u2019 in the thousands of comments posted beneath the statement, many insisting the verdict was the work of \u2018the devil\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you bury a lie, it will rot. If you bury the truth, it will rise,\u201d wrote Opeyemi Oduwole. \u201cWe South Africans know what happened to the building; we know the truth. No matter how they lie, the truth will prevail,\u201d added Bridget Mkhonto.<\/p>\n
Joshua followed up on the statement by posting a video on Facebook highlighting the differences between controlled demolition and structural failure with the caption, \u201cNo matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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