An inquest was called to determine the circumstances and causes of the collapse on September 12 past year of a guesthouse for foreign followers of Joshua at his Lagos megachurch.
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The church said it “disagrees most vehemently with the finding that the incident was due to structural failure” and said the verdict “left many issues unaddressed and questions unanswered”.
Those who built the hostel should also be investigated, he said.
The coroner investigating the collapse of a six-storey building within the premises of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) had indicted the church even as it demands prosecution of the two structural engineers that handled the construction.
The casualties comprised 60 males, 56 females, and a six year old child.
Magistrate Komolafe said the insinuation that a roving aircraft, which hovered over the building shortly before its collapse, was responsible for the building collapse was out of it, saying foundation failure was the remote cause of the collapsed building.
The coroner also criticised the fact that the preacher had not appeared as a witness during the inquest.
He had asked 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.
The incident strained diplomatic relations between South Africa and Nigeria.
Although his application was dismissed by Justice Lateefa Okunnu for lack of merit, Joshua had further ran to the Court of Appeal to overturn the high court’s decision.
“Alleged aircraft was not the cause of the building collapse”.
Investigators will now start to construct a criminal case against the church.
Magistrate Komolafe pointed out that government agencies must be rid of corruption, including issuance of fake receipts and “greasing of palms” during inspections on construction sites.
He advised that individuals/organisations must engage the services of qualified and competent engineers/consultants in carrying out building construction. Alternatively, the function of “monitoring and inspection” be outsourced to competent professional body that will detect violation of building law and regulations early before any failure.
“In addition, statutory/first responders should be adequately equipped to perform their functions effectively and efficiently”, he said.
He called for a reduction in the cost of obtaining necessary building permits in order to encourage individuals/organisations to go through the process of obtaining them before construction.
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There was no finding that the church procured substandard materials for the construction of the building, as confirmed by officials of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) who gave evidence at the coroner and certified the materials used were all approved and of good quality.
