How TB Joshua commissioned petroleum engineer to upgrade collapsed Synagogue building
By Rotimi Akinola
One of the engineers who oversaw the upgrading of a Synagogue guest house which collapsed last year had no business telling bricklayers what to do with sand and cement.
Two engineers linked to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building collapse could face the wrath of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
Despite not having government approval; SCOAN leadership, led by founder Temitope Balogun Joshua; commissioned Mr Oladele Ogundeji and Mr Akinbela Fatiregun to supervise the upgrade of the building where it hosts foreign guests.
One of the supervisors “is registered as a petroleum engineer while the other is a civil engineer,’’ COREN said, Friday.
A civil engineer could still usurp the duties of a structural engineer. Those in the field of petroleum engineering are expected to work in the oil and gas sector.
No less than 85 South Africans were among the 115 victims when the building imploded September 12 last year.
Lagos Coroner’s Court judged that SCOAN and its engineers should be probed and prosecuted for criminal negligence.
COREN boss, Mr Kashim Ali, told NAN the body would look into the court’s verdict and deal with the indicted engineers appropriately.
“Before now, our preliminary investigation had established that it was a structural failure,” Ali said.
“However, the Coroner has been able to establish the identity of those directly involved in the construction of the failed building.’’
However, TB Joshua, some survivors of the tragedy and almost all the members of The Synagogue church insist the tragedy was the work of saboteurs.
Joshua even went as far as uploading a YouTube video to prove his point.
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