Synagogue: Inquest Dismisses Joshua’s Application To Stay Proceedings

                                                       Founder of the SCOAN, Prophet Temitope Joshua

The Coroner’s Inquest investigating the circumstances that led to the collapse of a six-storey guest house belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) Wednesday dismissed an application seeking to stay its proceedings.

The Coroner, Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, dismissed the application on the grounds that it is an abuse of court processes.

The founder of the SCOAN, Prophet Temitope Joshua, had asked the Coroner’s Inquest to stay further proceedings and suspend further actions on his invitation to appear to give evidence before it pending the determination of his suit against Komolafe before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of an Ikeja High Court.

The inquest was inaugurated by the Lagos State Government under the state Coroner’s System Law No.7 of 2007 to investigate the cause and circumstances resulting in the death of 166 people following the collapse on September 12, 2014 and bring its findings and recommendations to the appropriate authorities.

Joshua in the said application dated November 11, 2014 before Justice Okunnu and marked ID/188MJR/2014 had asked for a judicial review of the coroner’s proceedings, which began on October 13.

He had asked the High Court to declare that his invitation to appear as a witness before the coroner was a breach of his right to fair hearing, as no case had been established against his person before the coroner.

He further contested that the coroner has been extending his inquisitions into areas beyond its statutory purview.

Also, T.B Joshua’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo had argued before the Coroner’s Inquest that the application before the high court was for a judicial review to ascertain whether Komolafe had exceeded the statutory jurisdiction of the coroner’s court.
Ojo had argued the duty of the coroner was limited to determining what killed the victims of the collapsed building and nothing more.

He said it was beyond the scope of the coroner to delve into the questions of what was responsible for the collapse of the building itself.

He had therefore asked the coroner to stay proceedings pending the ruling of Justice Okunnu on the issues before her.

But dismissing the application yesterday, Komolafe held that it was an abuse of court processes and that it lacks the power to hear such application.

Komolafe said since there were no parties such as applicants and respondents or plaintiffs and defendants in the coroner’s court but only witnesses and interested parties, Joshua had no premise upon which to bring the application for stay of proceedings.

The coroner said the application for stay of proceeding did not conform with Order 40 Rule 6 of the Lagos State Civil Procedural Rules, 2012 and that granting such request would amount to him acting beyond his statutory power.

“From the order made by the High Court of Lagos State, there is no part wherein it was stated that the proceedings of the coroner should be stayed as provided for under Rule 40 Order 6, paragraph (a) of Lagos State Civil Procedural Rule, 2012.

“It is for this reason of avoiding this kind of abuse of processes of the court that the lawmakers provided for Order 40 Rule 6, paragraph (a) of the High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedural Rules, 2012 for cases of judicial review,” the coroner said.
Komolafe held that if Justice Okunnu had intended to give an order to restrain the proceedings of the coroner court, she would have done it at the point when she gave Joshua the leave to ask for a judicial review of coroner’s inquest.

The coroner therefore adjourned further proceedings till December 12.

source: Thisdaylive