Lagos State Government has moved againstthe popular Synagogue Church of All Nations

The Lagos State Government has moved against
the popular Synagogue Church of All Nations,
Ikotun, whose one of its buildings collapsed last
week killing scores of people including a 10-year-
old kid with many others critically injured.
The structure, which was under construction, was
initially a two-storey building before the addition
of four new floors which were under construction.
As of Thursday, the death toll in the building
collapse hit 80. Among the dead were 67 South
Africans.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency has,
therefore, marked the main building of the church,
asking for relevant documents to prove its
structural integrity.

The General Manager, Lagos State Building
Control Agency, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun-
Odunayo, who confirmed that the building had
been marked by the agency in a phone interview
with Saturday PUNCH, said it had requested that
the church provides some documents, adding that
a structural integrity test would be carried out on
all the buildings in the church complex.
She said, “X’ (the mark on the building) does not
mean demolition; it is for structural integrity test
to be carried out on the building and the church
is expected to provide all the documents for
approval and the church has three months to do
this.”
Asked if the building would be demolished in case
the church failed to meet the requirements within
the time frame, Animashaun-Odunayo declined to
make further comments.
“Look, it is still under investigation; I can’t say
more than that. I don’t even know who I am
talking with on the phone,” she said.
LASBCA was recently created to enforce building
control regulations and implement the 2010
Physical Planning, Urban Development and
Building Law in the state.
The State Commissioner for Physical Planning and
Urban Development, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde, who
spoke with one of our correspondents, also
described the “X” sign as a ‘stop work order.’
“It is a stop work order. it doesn’t mean the
building will be demolished,” he said.
He explained the order became necessary so as
to allow a structural integrity test on all the
buildings in the church complex.
The commissioner said though there was an
approval for the church auditorium, he was not
certain that there was an approval for the
additional work being done on the auditorium.
The President, Building Collapse Prevention Guild,
Mr. Kunle Awobodu, also described the “X” mark
as notice to stop work on the building and also to
draw attention to illegal activities on it.
He said the notice could span up to seven days
or more depending on the situation.
He said, “Work was ongoing on the six-storey
building before it collapsed though the church
said it was due to an aircraft hovering for a period
of time but this aircraft could be traced and
enquiry made.
“Technically speaking, the foundation of a house
is the key for successive floors to sit comfortably.
“Presentation of papers such as the architectural
drawings, structural drawings, soil test reports
and many more would strengthen or weaken the
evidence of the church.”
A former Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Institute of
Architects, who is a member of the Building
Collapse Prevention Guild Technical Committee on
the investigation of the collapsed building at the
Synagogue Church, Olufemi Shodunke, explained
that the structural integrity test to be carried out
on the building would involve professional
judgement to determine its efficacy.
Shodunke said the professionals responsible for
the construction of the collapsed guest house had
yet to be identified and that the answer was
important to the investigation of the committee.
An estate surveyor, Kayode Ogunji, who is also a
member of the collapsed building investigation
panel, said, “In the building language, when you
have an ‘X’ sign labelled on a structure, it means
there is a distress in that building; it means there
is something wrong with the construction. It is
either the building is tilting, sinking or the right
materials were not used, and even before, during
and after construction, if these tilts are
discovered, the authority in charge will now come
over there to tell the builders to stop.