Court grants engineers N20m bail

The two engineers, who constructed the collapsed seven-storey guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nations -- Akinbela Fatiregun and Oladele Ogundeji -- were on Tuesday in Lagos granted N20 million bail.

An Ikeja High Court gave the ruling at the hearing of the bail application for the engineers.

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo said:"The bail application hereby succeeds and here are the bail conditions.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the engineers have since April 19 been remanded at Kirikiri Maximum Prisons after they had entered a plea of 'not guilty’ to a 111-count charge bordering on gross negligence and criminal manslaughter.

The Sept. 12, 2014 building collapse left 116 persons, 85 of whom were South Africans, dead.

The Coroner's Inquest instituted by the Lagos State Government had in its verdict on July 8, 2015 said the building collapse was "caused by structural failure due to a combination of designs and detailing errors’’.

The coroner ordered that Synagogue church should be investigated and proceeded against by the relevant authorities for not possessing necessary building permits, while the two engineers involved in the construction of the building should be tried for criminal negligence.

The judge said the defendants should present a surety who should be a civil servant with a minimum of Grade Level 14 and whose employment shall be verified by the State Head of Service.

"The second surety shall be a house owner with property located in Lagos and also provide utility bills and evidence of tax payment.

"The defendants must deposit their international passports with the Chief Registrar of the High Court of Lagos and the defendants shall be verified by the Chief Registrar.’’

The case was adjourned to May 19, May 20 and June 1, June 2 and June 3 for hearing.