Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency,
NEMA, however said the possibility of recovering more bodies was high.
The agency’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Farinloye, who
confirmed yesterday that the death toll was now 80 and the rescue operation was
still ongoing to remove more victims trapped in the rubble.
“We now have 80 dead and 131 rescued alive. More are
likely to be recovered today. We need less distraction to enable us concentrate
on the operation to possibly conclude today.”
Observers are of the view that the incident has
recorded the highest number of casualties in the history of the state.
However, the Lagos State Government yesterday said it
had no plan to seal the church until investigations were concluded.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban
Development, Toyin Ayinde, in a statement reiterated that the collapsed
building had no building approval from the state government.
He, however, expressed his sincere condolences and
sympathy with those who lost their loved ones and those that were injured in
the unfortunate incident. Ayinde said the state government and indeed the
ministry was particularly saddened that innocent lives were lost.
The statement reads in part: “The Honourable
Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde, has
reiterated the position of the ministry, that the six- floor guest house of the
Synagogue Church for All Nations that collapsed on Friday, 12th of September,
2014 at Ikotun-Egbe, a Lagos suburb, did not have building approval.
“There is no plan to take over the collapsed structure
site until thorough and detailed investigation as to the cause(s) of the
collapse has been concluded.
“Government does not arbitrarily take over properties
when investigation is still ongoing. Government is conducting a preliminary
investigation into the cause(s) of the collapse and would leave no stone
unturned and if there is any violation of relevant planning law, residents are
assured that government would take appropriate action.
“To this end, a team of engineers from the ministry
and other state government agencies are taking samples from the foundation and
materials from the wreckage of the building for detailed analysis and testing
to ascertain the structural integrity of the building.”
On the veracity of the “Strange plane theory”, alleged
to have dangerously flown low over the building 50 minutes before the collapse,
the ministry had submitted the video clips as provided by the church to the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, with the coordinates of the collapsed
site for investigation and professional comment.
Opinions are however divided on the role and duty of
the church pastor, Prophet Temitope Joshua, in the whole saga as a renowned
seer who had predicted several events in the past.
Some are of the opinion that he should have seen the
incident coming and warned against it or prayed to prevent it while others said
he could not see everything since he is not God.
According to a resident at Ikotun, Bello Mensa, “he is
a prophet of God. He only speaks the mind of God, which implies that he has to
listen to the voice of God. So, if God did not speak to him, there is nothing
he can say. God knows the reasons why that happened.”
Another commentator, who did not want his name
mentioned, said: “Enough is enough with this professional Christian pastors.
Most of them are fakes. I don’t believe they are genuine. The more people start
seeking and understanding the truth, the less you will believe in these
professional preachers and prophets who deceive people about. Don’t let another
human being tell you how you should relate with your God.”
However, relations of victims were yesterday barred
from entering the Isolo General Hospital wards to ascertain whether their loved
ones were on admission.
It was gathered that the relations were asked by
health workers to obtain clearance from the church authorities before they
could be allowed in.
Meanwhile, the South African government has said that
as many as 300 of its citizens were visiting the Synagogue Church when the
building collapsed.
The country said 67 South Africans were killed in the
incident, and an unknown number are still unaccounted for.
The government spokesman Mac Maharaj, who gave further
insight to the claim yesterday, said that it was not clear how many were on the
spot when the tragedy struck.
President Jacob Zuma had on Tuesday said that at least
67 South Africans died in Friday’s accident and described it as one of the
worst tragedies in South Africa’s recent history.
Zuma’s tally however conflicted with that of the
emergency services late on Tuesday that put the death toll at 62.
There was no immediate explanation for the
discrepancy.
Members of the church had at first prevented emergency
officials from participating in the rescue, making it difficult to establish a
toll for the injured and dead, originally estimated at 41. State rescuers were
only allowed in on Saturday.
Pretoria described the search-and-rescue operation as
“very fluid” but defended the credibility of its count of 67 dead, saying it
was based on records and information on the ground from five tour groups that
had arranged for South African worshippers to go to Lagos.
“This number is based on credible information,”
foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said.
Late on Tuesday, Zuma told the SABC national
broadcaster that an unknown number of South Africans were “not yet accounted
for” and that the nation needed to “grieve together.”
Maharaj later said the government believed around 300
South Africans from four to five groups were visiting the church on Friday but
it was not clear how many were on the spot when the tragedy struck.
“It’s a very popular church with South Africans,”
Maharaj said.
The regular influx of visitors from abroad for the
church’s services, which can last up to a week, creates demand for
accommodation that the church’s own guest house has been unable to meet, and
often spills over into local hotels.
Tags
Society