The Lagos Coroner, charged with investigating the collapse of a building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), has appealed to the South African government to allow relatives of their deceased nationals come to Nigeria to donate DNA samples.
The Coroner, Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, made the appeal on Monday at the inaugural sitting of inquest into the cause of the collapsed building at the Lagos High Court in Ikeja.
He observed that the DNA examination, which is a major aspect in the inquest, would not be done if relatives were not around to identify their deceased relations.
Komolafe noted that relatives of the victims needed to donate blood to enable the pathologists identify the bodies through DNA test, after which the bodies will be released for burial.
A total of 115 bodies, mostly South Africans, were recovered from the debris of the collapsed building in the premises of SCOAN.
According to Komolafe, investigation was not a prosecution,hence; facts should be given as they are by all parties so that such occurrences can be avoided in future.
His words, “I empathize with the families of the victims, but I want to seize this opportunity to state the importance of the DNA to this inquest.
“Relatives of victims should avail themselves and donate blood to enable the pathologists identify the bodies.
“The medical team and pathologists are working because the court has directed them to carry out the activities and report back.
“It is important for the South African embassy to ensure that relatives of the victims come forward for the pathologist to get the needed samples to compare with the bodies.
“Those corpses have to be properly identified and when that is done and the process completed, the bodies will be released to the South African government and they can take them home if they want them taken home.
“We have to all work together. We should not allow anything to cause misunderstanding. Nigeria and South Africa we are one, at least we are blacks.
“Please, let us work together to make this process a success,” he noted.
The Lagos State Government had instituted a Coroner’s Inquest under the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law No. 7 of 2007 for the purpose of establishing the cause and manner of the collapse of a building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations at Ikotun Egbe, Lagos which led to the death of over a hundred persons.
The inquest was instituted by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, 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 person lying within his Coroner District was as a result of a violent, unnatural or suspicious occurrence.
Comments