sA coroner has been engaged by the Lagos state government to conduct an inquest into the circumstances which led to the collapse of a six storey accommodation building at the Synagogue Church of all Nations, Ikotun, Lagos State.
The state government instituted the Coroner’s Inquest under the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law No. 7 of 2007. The Coroner is Magistrate O. A. Komolafe, who also sat as Coroner in the Dana Air Crash case.
It was instituted for the purpose of establishing the cause and manner of the recent incident of a collapsed building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations at Ikotun Egbe, Lagos and the several deaths that followed. A total of 115 persons, mostly South Africans, allegedly died in the September 12, 2014 collapsed building.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, the inquest will hold at the premises of the High Court of Lagos State, Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja.
The statement noted that the inquest was instigated by the Attorney General under section 15 of the Coroner Law which provides that a Coroner shall hold an inquest whenever he is informed that the death of a deceased person lying within his Coroner District was as a result of a violent, unnatural or suspicious occurrence.
Ipaye emphasized that the Coroner has extensive powers to investigate the cause and circumstances of death and bring his findings and recommendations to the attention of appropriate authorities.
Hear him, “In doing this, he has all the powers of a magistrate to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses, including medical examiners, and require them to give evidence, produce documents or present other relevant materials
“The Law requires the verdict of a Coroner as certified in writing to be forwarded to the State Attorney General and such verdict may form the basis of criminal prosecutions depending on the evidence collected,” he stated.
The statement furthered disclosed that the coroner will announce his sitting and visitation schedules as well as other details soon.
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