The founder, Synagogue Church Of All Nations, Prophet
Temitope Joshua, on Friday asked an Ikeja High Court to stop the ongoing
coroner's inquest into the Sept.12 collapsed building in the church.
Mr Olalekan Ojo, the counsel to Joshua, in application
before the coroner, said the suit was before Justice Lateefat Okunnu.
Ojo asked the coroner, Mr Oyetade Komolafe, to suspend
further proceedings on the inquest, pending when the court would either uphold
or reject Joshua's prayers.
"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.
"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.
"The strict scope of the coroner's inquest is
ascertaining the cause and the manner of death.
"It will be in the best interest of all of us if the
High Court agrees with us," Ojo said.
He also urged the coroner to accord the High Court respect
and dignity by not taking any further action that could prejudice the suit
before the judge.
Responding, Komolafe said he had not been served with any
court process.
Komolafe said he was not obliged to suspend sittings till
the High Court's decision came, adding that nobody should create impression
that the inquest was a trial court.
He said that it was only self-restraint and the spirit of
fairness that was preventing him from issuing a bench warrant against Joshua
for failing to appear before the court.
"Let me give this to you, so that you don't create the
impression to the world that anybody is after anybody, because, in fact, you
saw me writing; it is the bench warrant for that man.
"But you see, let me give him a long rope to pull.
"The court cannot be taken for granted and nobody, I
repeat, nobody can do that, not even him. I just want you to advise him
accordingly.
"I don't even need to listen to this application, just
to tell you that nobody is being prosecuted or being put on trial.
“The point I want to make is that, that fellow, whoever, he
is, he is not above the laws of the land and he dare not try it.
" Take that message back to him, that not on earth
should he try to rubbish the court and never on earth should he try to use his
hand to touch the sword of the state because if he does, he would have himself
to blame.
"What I am saying is that Joshua should respect himself
and not drag the law of the land into the mud," he said.
The coroner, therefore, adjourned further hearing till Dec.
3.
No comments:
Post a Comment