Structural Elements of Collapsed Synagogue Church Guest House Conformed to Standard – Expert

By Alex Olise

A professor of structural engineering and star witness in the ongoing case of the collapsed Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) Guest House, Professor Patrick Nwankwo, has told Justice Lateef Lawal Akapo led the court in Lagos that the structural elements conformed with the code requirement in building practice.

The Don, who was being led in evidence by one of the lead counsels to the church, Mr Olamilekan Ojo (SAN), also told the court that the loading recommended for constructing the building was in order and very proper before it collapsed on September 12, 2014.

He explained before the court that after careful investigation he discovered that the reinforcement provided for the building was adequate and the structural section 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 knew the standard of building practice.

He explained further, that when he got information about the collapsed 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 documents relating to the building. Later on, he as a professional embark on a special investigation through the remodeling of the building to enable him to find out what led to the collapse of the structure

He described remodelling as a means involving subjecting the major structure for analysis, either by hand combination or structural software in accordance with building code.

He added that at the end of his investigation it was revealed that the building was sound and had no crack whatsoever before it collapsed.

He argued that the collapsed building could not be the handwork of the engineers who handled the project.

According to him, most of the investigations done included topsoil investigation to determine the type of foundation recommended and adopted for the 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.

The guest house had collapsed on September 12, 2014, after a strange aircraft allegedly flew over the tall building.

Up till date, no investigation had been done on the said aircraft that allegedly caused the collapse of the building.

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