Court Fines T.B. Joshua and Church N25, 000 For Delaying Hearing Of Suit Against Lagos Coroner

T.B Joshua fined N25,000.00 for delaying court process on the suit filed against him and his Church for the collapse of the Church's guesthouse in which 116 persons lost their lives. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN,.........

An Ikeja High Court has awarded N25,000 in cost against the Synagogue Church Of All Nations and its founder, Temitope Joshua, for delaying further hearing of their suit against a Lagos state coroner.
Justice Lateefa Okunnu awarded the cost against the applicants on Tuesday for “wasting the time of the court and tax payers’ money”.

The applicants had sued the coroner, Oyetade Komolafe, and the Lagos State Government, over its ongoing inquest into the collapse of SCOAN guest house.
One hundred and sixteen persons were killed after the six-storey building collapsed on September 12, 2014.

In the suit, counsel to SCOAN and its
founder, Lateef Fagbemi, said his clients had asked for a judicial review of the proceedings before the coroner’s inquest which began on
October 13, 2014.
They had prayed the court to declare that the coroner had exceeded the jurisdiction of a coroner’s court by delving into areas that were beyond its scope.

However, on the resumption of hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Fagbemi told the court that he had filed two fresh applications relating to
the suit.
“We filed two processes yesterday. One is a motion and the other one is the applicants consolidated Reply on Points of Law”, he said.

Responding, Counsel to the respondents, Karmardeen Bakare, said the processes were served on his team in court and he needed
time to prepare his reply.
He, therefore, urged the court for an
adjournment to enable him examine the applications.

Following the development, the judge said it was clear that the day’s proceedings could not go on as scheduled.
Mr. Okunnu observed that the suit had been adjourned several times at the instance of the applicants.
She, therefore, awarded the N25,000 cost against them.

The court also ordered that they should file an affidavit of compliance before the next adjourned date of February 20.

(NAN)

SCOAN Building Collapse: TB Joshua to Appear Before Coroner, November 5

     Prophet TB Joshua, the founder and General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, (SCOAN) will appear before the coroner investigating the church’s building collapse on November 5, 2014 along with the contractor in charge of the collapsed six-storey project, in which more than 100 persons lost their lives.

  

   Speaking in a sitting on friday, the coroner, Magistrate O.A Komolafe said, The Prophet must appear before it but the church's council objected saying the Prophet need not appear because he was never an eye witness to the incident.

Synagogue Collapse: TB Joshua offers help to South Africa victims

Prophet TB Joshua has been reported offering succor to the families of victims of the church's guest house building collapse to ameliorate their sufferings even as many say that alone is not enough

    General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All of Nations (SCOAN) in the Ikotun area of Lagos, Temitope Balogun Joshua, on whose premises a collapsed six-storey building on September 12 killed about 80 South Africans in addition to some Nigerians, has sent some ‘relief’ materials to the South African victims. The South African ‘Sunday Times’ newspaper reported on
Sunday that Joshua has sent teams of his ‘evangelists’ across South Africa to drop off R5,000 (about N75,000), maize meal and anointed water to family members of those killed in church guesthouse collapse.
Lagos State Government is to begin a probe into the circumstances
surrounding the collapse of the building on October 13. According to the Sunday Times report, several families said they had been presented with gifts on behalf
of Joshua.
    But not all were impressed,
the newspaper also reported.
Thanduxolo Doro, who lost his sister,
Vathiswa Madikiza, in the tragedy said since his recent call for a class-action lawsuit against Joshua, representatives of the church had repeatedly tried to set up a meeting with him.

“They met with my family at home,
offering condolences, and gave them
R5,000. I told them: ‘Whatever you are offering, it can never compare with the life of my sister,’” said Doro. Madikiza had paid R18,000 (about N270,000) to travel from South Africa to Lagos to visit the church.

So far, the newspaper reported that five families have indicated they will join Doro in his bid to take legal action against the church and that two legal firms have offered their services.

Kirsten Nematandani, a former
President of the South African Football Association and a “fellow” of the Synagogue Church of All of Nations, confirmed that several teams had visited each affected family.
“In fact this is the second round of visits,” he said. “We are assisting the families with whatever they need, school fees, rent, groceries and
toiletries. The families are so grateful for the help, we take the message from the man of God that they must pray with him for the loss of their loved ones. We give them the anointed water to strengthen them.”

Nematandani assured that the
church would continue to support the families.
The son of another woman who died in the building collapse said his family received two bags of groceries as well as the cash. “It is the thought that counts.

I know it’s not much but we took the
money.” Mxolisi Catazo, whose wife,
Amanda Fina, was among the 80 South Africans who died in the building collapse, said: “The church people did come to see me on Monday and they said I must call them when I need help with the funeral. They didn’t give me any
money.”
A woman who has been travelling with other church representatives told the newspaper: “This is what the church is about. It’s about giving. We are offering families counselling, prayer and practical assistance.” The woman, who
asked not to be named, said the church’s broadcast arm, Emmanuel TV – which is based in Rivonia in northern Johannesburg – was co-ordinating the relief teams. The media has been so negative about the church and all the church has been doing is helping people.

That is our ministry,” she said.
The woman said families were given
food hampers and cash with the promise of more money in the future. South African officials said on Friday that the Nigerian authorities had completed post
mortems on the 116 people killed. DNA material had been collected and would be taken to a forensic laboratory for comparison, a statement from the South African Government Communication and
Information System said.

Lagos State Government has said the coroner it inaugurated to probe the circumstances surrounding the collapse will begin sitting on October 13. This was contained in a statement by the state Ministry of Justice on Friday.

Culled from 247 Nigeria