By Alex Olise
A professor of structural engineering and star witness in the ongoing trial of the Synagogue Church of all Nation (SCOAN) guest house collapsed building case professor Patrick Nwankwo, had told the Justice Lateef Lawal Akapo led court Thursday, in Lagos that the structural element used in constructing the guest house conformed with the code requirement in building practice.
According to the university don while being led in evidence by one of the lead counsel to the church Mr. Olamilekan Ojo (SAN), also told the court today that the loading recommended for constructing the building was in order and very proper before it collapsed on 12th September 2014
He explain before the court that after careful investigation he discovered that the reinforcement provided for the building was adequate and also the structural section was sufficient
The witness who had vast knowledge about building and civil engineering works told the court that he knew the civil engineer that constructed the guest house to be a professional that know the standard of building practice.
He explained further, that when he got information about the collapse building he quickly arranged for a meeting with the engineer Mr. Oladele Ogundeji and they met at the church site where he was handed with some important document relating to the building. Later on he as a professional, he embarked on special investigation through remodeling of the building to enable him find out what led to the collapse of the structure
He described remodeling as a means involving subjecting the major structure for analysis either by hand combination or structural software in accordance with building code.
And at end of his investigation it was revealed that the building was sound and had no crack whatsoever before it collapsed, meaning therefore that the collapsed building could not be the handwork of the engineers who handled the project.
According to him most of the investigation carried include top soil investigation and also will to determine the type of foundation recommended and adopted for construction of the building
A number of witnesses made up of professionals in different fields of engineering have continued to appear before the court to testify over the matter.
It could be recall that the synagogue church guest house had mysteriously collapsed on September 12 2014 after a strange air craft flew over the tall building multiple time on the faithful day before it collapsed.
Up till date no investigation had been carried out over the said aircraft that cause the collapse of the building
It is on record that the church through the man of God Prophet TB Joshua has been responsible for the financial expenses and upkeep of immediate families of the victims of the incident both in Nigeria and those living outside the country.
The case had been adjourned till tomorrow Friday 8th November