Synagogue Building Collapse: Court Orders Substituted Service On Contractors

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, on Friday ordered that a substituted service be effected on the contractors that supervised the collapsed guest house belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). The judge directed that substituted service of the court process be effected on the contractors by pasting same on the front door of their addresses which are; 34, Akindele Street, off Collinton Bus-Stop, Alagbado, Lagos State, and 42, Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos State. The court also ordered that a photographic evidence showing the court sheriff pasting same should be tendered before the court. The contractors; Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun are the 4th and 5th defendants in the criminal charge initiated by the Lagos State government against The Registered Trustees of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Hardrock Construction Company, and Jadny Trust Ltd, who are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively in the charge. Prior to the court’s order, counsel to the state government, Idowu Alakija had intimated the judge on the existence of a “motion exparte” dated December 11, 2015 and filed on the same date. In asking the court to allow the said application, Alakija had informed the court that, “We have been able to serve the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants and there is proof of service to that effect. “But we have been unable to effect service of court processes on the 4th and 5th  defendants. There is a motion exparte and we pray your lordship to allow us move same. “It is seeking an order to serve the information on the 4th and 5th defendants by substituted means, by pasting on their addresses. “The affidavit evidence to show that it has been impossible to serve the 4th and 5th defendants are before this court.” It would be recalled that the Lagos State government had dragged the defendants before the court sequel to their indictment and subsequent recommendation for prosecution by the Coroner Inquest it set up to investigate the cause of the building collapse which led to the death of 116 people mostly South Africans on September 12, 2014. Particularly, the Lagos State Coroners Court sitting in Ikeja, presided over by Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe had on August 7, 2015 ruled that the church and its contractors were essentially negligent in the fatal collapse of the six-storey building owned by the church. However, this verdict did not go down well with the contractors who initiated two separate suits before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos. The contractors in their suit prayed Justice Buba for an order restraining the police from inviting, arresting or prosecuting them over the victims’ death. The engineers rejected the coroner’s verdict, describing it as “unreasonable, one-sided and biased”. They claimed that the Nigeria Police, Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) and the Lagos State Government (Respondents) will act upon the Coroner’s findings by proceeding to arrest, investigate and/or prosecute them for criminal negligence. They also contended that if the respondents carry out these aforementioned acts, it would amount to a likely breach of their fundamental human rights to fair hearing, human dignity and personal liberty. However Justice Buba, in his ruling on the defendants’ preliminary objection held that the engineers “had not made a case for infringement on their fundamental human rights even on the merit of the application”, and dismissed their applications on November 11, 2015 paving the way for the trial to commence. Further hearing on the matter has been adjourned to January 19, 2016 for report of service and possible arraignment.