Site engineers sent back to Kirikiri prison

dimeji akinloye

April 26, 2016 7:35 PM

Over 120 people were reported dead after the collapse in September 2016 - most of the deceased were foreigners.

TB Joshua

The two engineers whose alleged carelessness and unprofessionalism caused the collapse of the ongoing construction of guest house at the

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo said the accused, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, should be returned to Kirikiri prison till May, 3, 2016, when their bail applications would he heard.

READ: Synagogue Collapse - Govt. asks Court to throw out suit filed by indicted structural engineers

The court had fixed Tuesday, April 26, 2016, to rule on their bail applications but Justice reserved ruling till May 3. This followed their arraignment and detention last week for offences ranging from manslaughter and negligence.Fatiregun's counsel, Titi Akinlawon (SAN), in her application dated April 19, 2016 brought pursuant to Section 115 of Section 2 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, argued that the "offences committed by the defendant is bailable.

"He has been charged before for the same offences at the magistrate court and did not jump bail. So if granted bail now, he will also not jump bail,” she argued.

Olalekan Ojo, Counsel to Ogundeji, also told the court that "granting him bail will put him (defendant) in best position to prepare for his trial."

In a counter argument, the Director of Public Prosecution(DPP), Idowu Alakija however urged the court not to grant the defendants bail.

She argued that while the court has the discretion to grant bail or not, “the 4th defendant (Ogundeji) does not have an address within the jurisdiction of the court and therefore may jump bail if granted.”

They had pleaded not guilty to the 111-count charge of gross negligence and criminal manslaughter brought against them by the state.

dimeji akinloye