T.B Joshua's Synagogue Building Collapses,Many Die

A six-storey building belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Ikotun, Lagos, collapsed on Friday with no fewer than 50 persons feared dead.

The building, which was under construction, was initially a two-storey building before the addition of four new floors which were under construction.

According to reports from Punch,the building, which housed guests and members of the church, already had so many people lodged in it before the incident.

The six-storey building, which collapsed around 1pm, was under construction.

The Synagogue Church of All Nations was founded by Prophet Temitope Joshua.

A 10-year-old child was among the dead and some foreigners were among the victims said to have been rescued alive. As of the time of going to press, several persons were still trapped in the collapsed building.

However, the exact number of casualties could not be confirmed as there were conflicting reports from emergency agencies and eyewitnesses.

For instance, the Public Relations Officer, National Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the recovery of three dead bodies and 15 persons rescued alive.

He said, “We have recovered three dead bodies and a child of about 10 years was among them. The others were adults and one of them had his leg chopped off. Before we arrived at the scene, 15 persons had been rescued alive and taken to the hospital. But there are people still trapped in the building and rescue efforts are still ongoing.”

There were foreigners among the dead and those that were rescued but the exact number has not been ascertained.

An eyewitness, who insisted that up to 50 persons died in the incident, said he saw almost 10 ambulances loaded with bodies going to and fro, taking victims to nearby hospitals.

The collapsed building was said to have served as a guest house for church members, particularly foreigners attending the church.

Farinloye, who confirmed that the building was under construction, said the building collapse might have been caused by the addition of three more storeys to the structure.

Journalists were barred from covering the incident by church members, who were trying to play down the incident. They also hampered rescue efforts as they attacked officials of the emergency services who were there to rescue victims.

Farinloye, who also confirmed this, said, “The church members have been very aggressive and hostile to us; they attacked us and we had to withdraw our services. I was attacked, the officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the General Manager of LASEMA were also attacked. We were not hurt and our equipment was not damaged. This was, however, because we quickly left when they attacked us. We are still waiting to settle before we resume our job.”

Consequently, the incident attracted many onlookers to the scene and there was heavy vehicular traffic in and around Ikotun area, where the church is located.

In the evening, the pandemonium in the area was compounded by security officials who besieged the entrance of the church, shooting into the air to disperse the crowd.

The security officers prevented onlookers from gaining entrance into the church, but their presence and shootings led to a stampede.

In the confusion, many of the onlookers running helter-skelter, rushed into moving vehicles, while trying to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

Beside security operatives, young men suspected to be members of the church, also barricaded the entrance of the church. They also prevented motorists from gaining access to the premises.

However, ambulances, police vehicles and forklifts were allowed to gain entrance.

No fewer than 20 ambulances had entered the site, coming out with injured victims as of 7pm. A bulldozer belonging to the Lagos State Works Corporation, was deployed to the premises to help in the rescue exercise.

The church was planning to hold a special programme on Saturday (today) and many members, including foreigners were meant to attend the event. Many visiting members of the church, who arrived later in the evening, met the confusion.

Meanwhile, This is an official communication from The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations concerning a news story currently being reported by the media regarding an incident that happened today:

“A building, not the church auditorium as was reported. The few people that were there are being rescued. What you wish to others, God wishes to you. Nothing makes us love a person as much as praying for him. The more I love you, the more I will pray for you.”