THE Nigerian Police Force has said it suspects sabotage in the recent collapse of the building belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) could have been caused by an act of sabotage.
According to a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Olushola Agboyi, who is leading police investigation into the incident, the suspicion is baed on the evidence of the survivors and nature of the collape.
Agboyi, who spoke at ongoing coroner inquest into the cause of the collapse of the building at a Lagos High Court presided over by Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, said that preliminary reports suggested that the collapse could have been caused by internal sabotage from lodgers or visitors to the church.
To the investigator, a saboteur (s), undetected, could have used explosives or chemical substances to bring down the building.
Agboyi, a Police investigator, who is of the Homicide Section, Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, told the court that 116 persons, mostly South Africans, who had come to SCOAN for worship died in the collapse of the six-storey building on September 12, 2014.
In his evidence led by the Police counsel, Mr. Chukwu Agwu, he told the court that he led the team that investigated the collapse of the building and was also a member of the Federal Government’s panel.
Agboyi said he interviewed one of the survivors, Mr. Taiwo Temitayo Taiwo, who claimed he heard a thunderous noise and saw lightening moments before the building came crashing. He however said that the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Police that visited the scene of the incident were yet to present its report.
The cop further added the CCTV footages of the incidentshows that what happened was consistent with controlled demolitions.
“The building came down in seconds. From the analysis of experts, the collapse looked like controlled demolition. It should be subjected to the testing of experts outside the country,” Agboyi added.
Also, he said that the aircraft which allegedly hovered around the building was a CH 130 Hercules belonging to the Nigerian Air Force.
His words: “ The aircraft was on a circuit training mission and was flying very low. I recorded statements from 34 witnesses that said the aircraft was flying very low and had caused panic among residents of the Ikotun area.”
The witness further said the police did not rule out the possibility of structural defects as being responsible for the collapse. “We are waiting for the report from the Lagos State Ministry of Works to analyse the materials used in its construction. Also, the Federal Government inter-agency panel investigating the incident had yet to conclude its findings,” the witness said.
