An engineering expert from Tanzania is the latest to question the
verdict of Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe who presided over the inquest
dealing with the collapse a building within The Synagogue, Church Of All
Nations (SCOAN) last year.
Dr Steven Asheri Ntoga, the dean of the Faculty of Engineering in
Tanzania, stated that from his professional viewpoint, structural
failure was not the cause of the fatal collapse.
“I am a civil engineer, a structural engineer and a material engineer,” Dr Ntoga explained in a YouTube video which shows him standing before the foundations of the ill-fated building within The SCOAN premises.
The Tanzanian university lecturer said that ‘British standards’ were
used in the construction, adding that, the foundation was sufficiently
strong for the size and weight of the building.
“This foundation itself is over-exaggerated, meaning that the
interaction between this foundation base and the soil has been opened up
so wide that even if the soil was of low strength, then actually, it
will still have an excellent response,” he explained. “This is why, as
you can see, the foundation itself is healthy.”
Ntoga, who was educated in Greece, described the steel used in the construction as having ‘the highest strength in the world’.
“With this kind of foundation, the building could go to even more
than 12 stories,” he insisted, adding that the manner and speed in which
the building fell suggested controlled demolition.
“This could only have been done as a preplanned arrangement by
knowledgeable people like me who teach people how to demolish
buildings,” he said.
Since the verdict, some Nigerians from different walks of life have also questioned the outcome of the inquiry.
Engineer Johnson Solomon, a Petro-chemical expert from Delta state
observed that the ruling of the coroner appeared to be premeditated and
jaundiced based on its refusal to take into consideration certain issues
that suggested a possible sabotage.
“The outcome of the coroner is purely an expression of the
magistrate’s ill-feelings against the ministry of Prophet T.B. Joshua,”
he told newsmen in Effurun.
Primate Babatunde Elijah Ayodele, the founder of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, also stated his support for Joshua.
“The healing and miracles done by Joshua, just like any genuine man
of God, will always have consequences, including attacks by dark
forces,” the cleric told newsmen.
“The ways of God are a mystery to man, so it is difficult to reject
Joshua’s explanation for the collapse. We should leave judgement to God,
even as families of the dead have forgiven the church,” he added.
In the same vein, Senior Apostle Bamidele Ogunyemi of the Overcomers’
Evangelical Mission, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, noted that the coroner’s
ruling seemed preplanned.
The cleric who said he had been attending the legal proceedings at
the Lagos Court, submitted that the body language of the presiding
magistrate from the first day of the inquest showed that he was biased
against The SCOAN.
For Major General Mohammed Daura, a retired army officer from Kaduna,
the coroner’s failure to dig deep into the aircraft theory posited by
The SCOAN is an indication that the truth is being swept under the
carpet.
“I am interested in this case because of the great things Prophet
T.B. Joshua has been doing for the less-privileged all over the world,
especially those from northern Nigeria,” he said.
According to Prophetess Nkiruka Omekagu, General Overseer of the
Adonai Prophetic Ministries, “God’s wrath will fall on those who are
trying to trouble the man of God”.
She stated that no amount of falsehood against a prophet of God can
stand the test of time, adding that human judgment is limited and
subject to error.
“Prophet T.B. Joshua remains a Christian role model worthy of
emulation, so why is he being haunted for doing good to people,” she
questioned.
Meanwhile, The SCOAN has rejected the verdict of the coroner on the grounds that it is unreasonable, one-sided and biased.
Ihechukwu Njoku, a freelance journalist resides in Warri, Nigeria
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