A court has granted bail to two engineers involved in the building of the Synagogue Church of All Nations’ guest house that collapsed in 2014.
The trial Judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo granted the two persons bail on Tuesday to the tune of 10 million Naira.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the 111-count charge of gross negligence and criminal manslaughter brought against them by the state.
The engineers, were last week sent to detention after they were arraigned for offences ranging from manslaughter and negligence, while the court fixed May 3 for the ruling on their bail applications.
After the incident in 2014, the two engineers, who constructed the collapsed building, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun and their companies, Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited were arraigned before the Lagos High Court in Ikeja alongside the trustees of the church.
Justice Lawal-Akapo had earlier dismissed an application filed by the second and fifth defendants, seeking to quash the charge and stay of further proceedings pending the determination of the application at the Court of Appeal.
The National Emergency Management Agency had put the final number of dead persons at 86 but other reports claimed over 100 persons died.
Giving the figures to reporters at the premises of the building, after the building had been levelled, the director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, said the figure was arrived at after a reconciliation of statistics presented by all the concerned agencies.
He said that “majority of the dead persons are suspected to be South Africans”, who use the guest house more.
Confirming the figures, South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Louis Mnguni, told reporters at the premises of the church that 84 South Africans died in the incident
