Lagos court adjourns SCOAN collapsed building trial again

 

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of an Ikeja High Court has adjourned till April 19, the trial of the Synagogue Board of Trustees, the engineers that constructed the ‎collapsed building and their companies.
The court fixed the date yesterday, to rule on separate applications filed by the
defendants through their counsel, seeking to stay proceedings of the High Court pending their appeal at the Court of Appeal.

The Lagos State Government had late last year slammed a 111-count criminal charges against Trustees of the church, the two engineers, Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun and their companies, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company; and Jandy Trust Limited for their involvement in the September 12, 2014 collapse of a six-storey guest house belonging to the church, which led to the death of 116 persons. But the defendants are yet to be arraigned on criminal charge due to various pre-trial applications filed by them.

When the matter came up yesterday, Mrs. Titi Akinlawon (SAN), counsel Fatiregun in an application dated March 3 prayed for an order adjourning further hearing pending the determination of her application before the Court of Appeal.

Arguing the application, she said, “The essence of the application for adjournment is that the High Court ruled that the hearing notices served on the fifth defendant was proper, a ruling we are appealing at the higher court.
“We also have before the court an application for stay of proceedings to await the decision of the Court of Appeal.
“On this strength, I appeal that an adjournment be granted by this court”.