Ambode Puts TB Joshua On The Defense For Deadly Church Collapse

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The State will prosecute the Synagogue Church of All Nations for neglecting to obtain building approval before commencing the building and going against the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010.

Akinwunmi Ambode, the Lagos State Governor, said on Thursday that he pledges to support the verdict of the judicial inquiry on last year's church collapse.

The collapse of the 6-story building killed 118 people. 22 of them were Nigerians, 85 were South Africans, two were Beninese, and one was Togolese.

In a statement signed by spokesman Habib Aruna, Governor Ambode said his administration would enforce the law in the State and abide by the July 7, 2015 recommendations of the coroner's verdict. The State will prosecute the Synagogue Church of All Nations for neglecting to obtain building approval before commencing the building and going against the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010.

Governor Ambode has said that his government also "will cause the prosecution of the contractor, Engineer Akinbela Fatiregun of Hardrock Engineering Company Limited and the Structural Engineer, Oladele Ogundeji, who conducted and supervised the collapsed building respectively at the Synagogue Church of All Nations for professional negligence."

Pastor TB Joshua has failed to honor multiple court summons and abstained from testifying at the coroner's inquest. He claims a low-flying plane caused the building collapse.

Last week Joshua's church denied the coroner's findings that the collapse of the building was because of their negligence. They called the verdict "one-sided and biased."

Governor Ambode said that all landowners in the State and individuals in the State who intend to start construction projects should employ qualified individuals and competent engineers who have building permits and licenses.

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