A former Lagos State Commissioner for Physical
Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde, on Tuesday told an Ikeja High
Court that the auditorium of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) did
not have a valid building permit.
Mr. Ayinde made the revelation while being led in
evidence by Idowu Alakija, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the ongoing
trial of two engineers charged with criminal manslaughter in the collapsed
seven-storey guest house of the church which claimed 116 lives.
“The building collapse occurred on a Friday. I got
in touch with the District Officer of the Lagos State Physical
Planning Permit
Authority (LASPPPA) to confirm if the Synagogue Church had any building
approval in the system,” he said.
“The Electronic Document Management System was
searched and the only building approval for the church did not cover the site
of the collapse building.
“The document, a five-storey building approval, was
meant for the church auditorium, but as at the time of the collapse, the church
auditorium had gone from five floors to eight floors.
“By the Ministry’s definition, the approval the church
had for the auditorium is no longer valid and there was no application for
approval registered for the collapsed building.
“The Building Control Agency pasted their sticker
on the auditorium which had surpassed the approved five-storey but there was no
need for sanctions on the other building because it had already collapsed.”
Mr. Ayinde, a consultant urban planner and a fellow
of the Institute of Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria, explained
his role as a commissioner in the administration of Gov. Babatunde Fashola.
“As a Commissioner, I
carried out supervisory role over the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban
Development and its three agencies.
“The three agencies are the
Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), Lagos State Building
Control Agency (LASBCA) and the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA).’’
The former commissioner
said building approval enabled owners of buildings to be adequately compensated
when road construction or compulsory acquisition by the government occurred.
Mr. Ayinde told the court
that while he visited the site of the collapsed building, there were too many
first responders at the scene.
“I visited the site two
days after the collapse as I was attending a retreat outside Lagos when the
incident occurred.
“With me were the General
Managers of LASPPPA and LASBCA as well as the Commander of the Rapid Response
Squad (RRS) as an advanced team to receive Gov. Fashola.
“The first thing we noticed
was that there were too many first responders, many of who were church members
and we ordered them out of the site because they were disturbing the rescuers.
“I gave a directive that
the rescue work should stop at ground zero to enable the material testing
laboratory to conduct tests on the foundation and columns on the debris,’’ he
added.
Akinbela Fatiregun and
Oladele Ogundeji alongside their companies — Hardrock Construction and
Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Ltd and the trustees of Synagogue Church —
are facing a 111-count charge bordering on gross negligence and criminal
manslaughter.
The incident which occurred
on Sept. 12, 2014 led to the death of 116 persons, 85 of who were South
Africans.
Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo
adjourned the case to June 22 for continuation of trial.
NAN
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