Synagogue: Court fixes Tuesday to rule on video evidence

Lagos State High Court has fixed Tuesday, (tomorrow) for ruling on the admissibility of a video recording of the collapsed six- storey guest house at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN.

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo fixed the date after listening to all counsels at the on-going trial on Monday.

The Lagos State Government had filed 111 charges bordering on criminal negligence, manslaughter and failure to obtain building permit against the trustees of SCOAN and two engineers, Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, alongside their companies, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited.

Recall that a guest house in SCOAN had on September 12, 2014 collapsed killing about 116 persons.

During Monday’s resumed trial, the Director, Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP, Mrs. Idowu Alakija, prayed the court to allow the prosecution tender the compact video CD and for it to be admitted as evidence.

‎However, the main witness in the trial, a former Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in the state, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde insisted on watching the video CD to ascertain the content before being led in evidence.

But objecting to Ayinde’s plea, lawyer to the second defendant, Chief E.L. Akpofure, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the request.

Counsel to the third and fifth defendant, Mrs. Titi Akinlawon, SAN, while objecting to the request, contended that in line with Section 83 of the Evidence Act, only the maker of a document can tender it as evidence.

“I am objecting my Lord in the first place to the admissibility of document sought to be tendered by the prosecution because it has been labeled by the witness as being computer generated.

“Going by the evidence of the witness who said ‘until I watch the CD, I won’t be in a position to ascertain whether this is the video I am referring to in my evidence.

“This witness is not in a position to tender this evidence until he sees the content and identifies same.

“This document is labeled as a Certified True Copy (CTC) of planning permit, which has nothing to do with the video the witness is talking about and from his own evidence, the computer that produced the recording was not operated by him,” Akpofure said.

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