Lagos Urges Court To Dismiss Synagogue Church, Engineers’ No Case Submission
The Lagos State Government on Friday, urged a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja to dismiss a no filed case by the Registered Trustees of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), and the two engineers that constructed the collapsed building belonging to church.
The church and engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun in their separate applications, told the court that having gone through the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it was clear that they did not have any case to answer.
The Lagos State government is prosecuting the defendants, their companies, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited on a 111 count charges of criminal negligence, manslaughter and failure to obtain building permit.
It would be recalled that the collapsed building claimed the lives of 116 worshippers who had lodged at the guest house belonging to SCOAN.
The Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions said that the defendants violated Section 75 of the Urban and Regional Planning Law of Lagos State, 2010, as well as Section 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
When they were arraigned on April 19, 2016, they pleaded ‘not guilty.’
The state subsequently opened its case, called witnesses and tendered documents to prove the allegations against the defendants.
Upon the closure of the state’s case in October this year, the defendants, rather than enter their defence, filed a ‘no-case’ submission, contending that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
The defence counsel, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Chief Efe Akpofure (SAN), Mrs. Titi Akinlawon (SAN) and Mr. Olalekan Ojo, said that there was nothing in the evidence led by the prosecution to warrant their client to proceed into any defence.
They urged the court to discharge them and let them go.
The court had adjourned till Friday for the state to respond to the ‘no-case’ submission. But at the resumed proceedings on Friday, the lead prosecuting counsel for the state, Jide Martins, said that the state had yet to file its response to the defendants’ ‘no-case’ submission.
Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo adjourned further proceedings till November 24.
