The founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet TB Joshua, has reportedly told a coroner court presided over by Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe to stop inviting him to give evidence during its sittings.
The clergyman made the assertion on Wednesday in reaction to the coroner investigating the collapse of a guest house building in his church at Ikotun area of lagos State.
According to The Nation, Joshua told the coroner court to stay action on his invitation pending the determination of a suit before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, the state capital.
The prophet in an application filed by his counsel, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, had prayed the court to stay further proceedings on the inquest pending the determination of his suit against Komolafe before Justice Okunnu.
Joshua in the application before Justice Okunnu, also prayed the court to declare that the invitation asking him 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.
The prophet in the application also pleaded with the court to order the coroner to suspend further proceedings pending when Justice Okunnu would either uphold or reject his prayers.
Below is an excerpt from the application:
“My Lord, most respectfully, we have applied for a judicial review of the proceedings of this honourable court so far. We may be right, we may be wrong, but what we are saying is that this coroner court has been extending and it is still extending its inquisitions into areas outside the statutory jurisdiction of the coroner court. That is our complaint, my Lord. And what we are saying is, if the High Court agrees with us to set aside such portions of the proceedings that it adjudges to have been conducted in excess of jurisdiction, it should prohibit the coroner from further acting in excess of its jurisdiction,” he said.
It would be recalled that about 116 worshipers died in a building collapse which occurred at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) on September 12, 2014, at Ikotun area of Lagos State.
Prophet TB Joshua had earlier filed an application through his counsels, Mr. Olalekan Ojo challenging the coroner for summoning him to come and testify on the building collapse that happened in his church.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian pastor based in South Africa, Apostle Paul Akarigbo, had before now told the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, Prophet TB Joshua not to appear before the coroner investigating the collapse of a guest house in his Synagogue Church.
However, following inspections carried out on the structure, it was revealed that the collapsed guest house were structurally defective, bearing more than they were designed for.