SYNAGOGUE BUILDING; COLLAPSE NOT CAUSED BY STRUCTURAL DEFECTS- CONSULTANT

Oladele Ogundeji, the consultant engineer who supervised the construction of the collapsed building belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) today said the collapse was not due to structural defects.

Ogundeji made this known even as the coroner’s court investigating the incident admitted the amended architectural and structural designs of the building as exhibit.
The inquest presided over by Oyetade Komolafe was instituted by the Lagos State Government to unravel the cause of the Sept 12, 2014 collapse of the building which killed 116 persons.
The witness who was led in evidence by SCOAN’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, told the court that he supervised Hardrock Construction and Engineering Ltd, the firm which handled the project.
Ogundeji said a soil test was conducted by a geo-technical engineer which informed the design used for the building.
He said the building was constructed in two phases beginning from July 2008 and was completed in September 2013.
“I will not agree that the collapse was caused by structural defect. If it was a structural defect the collapse will be gradual. There will be cracks visible even to a layman.
“When I watched the CCTV footage, everything came down within four seconds. Speaking sincerely, I believe that it must have been induced scientifically but I don’t know the means,” he added.
The witness said after the collapse, the Lagos State Material Testing Agency came to the site and took samples of the materials for laboratory test.
He said the concrete, reinforcement and columns all passed the test in the Structural Integrity Report released by the agency.
He, however faulted the agency’s recommendation in the that a raft foundation should have been erected for the structure.
Under-cross examination by Mr Akingbolahan Adeniran, counsel to the Lagos State Government, Ogundeji said the building was constructed without approval by the government.
He said the certified designs were sufficient to commence the project while his client’s (SCOAN) were responsible for processing the permit.
The matter was adjourned till March 2 for further hearing