COLLAPSED BUILDING: Court, Church Besieged on TB Joshua's Judgement

Lagos — Hundreds of Synagogue Church of All Nation (SCOAN) members have besieged the church’s premises and the Ikeja High Court in anticipation of the verdict on the deadly collapse of the church structure last year. About 120 people died after the collapse. The Coroner's Court investigating the incident is scheduled to hand over judgment today. Leader of local security group, Oudua People Congress (OPC), Dr Federick Fasehun, was also sighted this morning around the court venue of the verdict. He told our correspondent that he was in court in solidarity with TB Joshua, the controversial founder of the church. “I hope justice will be done,” he said. “I love justice and I would love justice to be done in this matter. I hope the powers that be will not allow him (TB Joshua) to be subjected to ridicule, degradation and embarrassment," he said. Our correspondent also observed that several top Nigerian actors and actresses had also besieged the Ikeja High Court premises where the proceeding will take place. As at the time of filing this report, the courtroom was still locked with journalists and lawyers waiting to be screened by police officers assigned to the court. The Lagos State Government set the inquest to ascertain the cause of the building collapse, identify the victims and how they died. Joshua had initially linked the tragedy to a “strange” aircraft wandering above the building shortly before it fell. A video released by the church on social media platforms showed the plane allegedly hovering around the building before its collapse. During the eight-month sitting of the inquest, several witnesses reported the six-story structure collapsed amid congestion. T.B Joshua personally refused to appear before the inquest insisting that he was not under any obligation to testify before the coroner. Although an appeal he filed before a Lagos High Court was overruled, he still did not appear before the inquest.