by Adedayo Ademuwagun

A lot of people continue to go to the Synagogue church despite the recent building collapse on its premises.

At least 80 people have been confirmed dead in the accident that occurred on September 12. This death toll is according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Meanwhile, NEMA said that 131 people have been rescued so far and that most of those taken to hospital have been discharged.

So far, there have been diverse reports about the actual number of victims who were injured or killed. South Africa has claimed that up to 300 South Africans were in the church and that 67 of them died in the accident.

The cause of the collapse has not be ascertained yet, but the head of the Synagogue church T.B. Joshua said it was an aircraft hovering in the sky that somehow caused the building to crumble. The Lagos government has said it is investigating this allegation.

Some reports say the building was initially a two-storey, and that more storeys were under construction prior to the wreckage. However, the ministry of physical planning and urban development explained that the collapsed building didn’t have proper construction approval. Meanwhile the state government said it is investigating the matter to determine the cause of this accident.

President Goodluck Jonathan was at the site last Saturday to commiserate with the church and observe the situation.

More recently, a journalist has accused the head of the church TB Joshua of bribing other journalists at his church. The journalist, Nicholas Ibekwe, put out an audio clip over the weekend where the church head can be heard offering journalists N50,000 each for them to fuel their cars. The audio clip caused a major stir online in Nigeria and South Africa.

Kolapo Olapoju