Expert witness says beam of The Synagogue church collapsed building accurate

A professor in building and analysis, Mr. Patrick Nwankwo and one of the engineers that investigated the collapsed guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) has told a Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere that the structural section and beam of the collapsed house building was accurate and sufficiently adequate.

 

He disclosed this in his evidence before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo in an ongoing trial of the engineers Akinbela Fatiregun and Oladele Ogundeji and their companies, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Ltd., alongside the trustees of the church.

 

The Lagos State government had slammed 111-count charges of gross negligence and criminal manslaughter of the defendants over the SCOAN collapsed building that killed no fewer than116 persons on September 12, 2014.

 

Led -in evidence by the Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Nwankwo narrated to the told court that the beam was not the cause of the collapsed building

 

The professor who is the eighth defense witness said that his investigation on the collapsed building shows that all the elements measured on the site fulfilled all requirements.

 

He said: “ I took some measurements of the remains of the collapsed building and the photographs of the foundation. I also took measurements of the element, columns, the foundation size as well as the beam to know whether the layout conforms with what is on the site.

 

“In the cause of my investigation, I also interviewed two technical staff of SCOAN since they are both architects.

I asked them if they noticed cracks in the building prior to the collapse but they said he did not notice any cracks on the building.

 

“I further carry out a remodelling on the built to find out the accurate measurement of the load which the building is meant to carry.”

 

Prof. Nwankwo further told the court that his findings revealed that the elements measured on the site fulfilled all requirements according to the code of practice. He added that he documented his findings in a report, which was before the court.

 

“My conclusion is that the loading and the beam used on the design of the collapsed building was the exact value used recommended for such building.”

 

He further submits that his findings on the SCOAN building revealed that the beam was not the cause of the collapsed building and the structural sector was adequate with what was built on the site.

 

The judge subsequently adjourned the further hearing to November 8, 2019.

 

 The Guardian