ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Saturday, February 27, 2021
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Synagogue Building collapse

Synagogue Building collapse

Nigeria’s intelligence agencies ‘blew up’ Synagogue building, Fani-Kayode says

byBen Ezeamalu
June 7, 2017
3 min read

A former minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has blamed Nigerian intelligence agencies for the collapse of a six-storey building inside the premises of The Synagogue Church Of All Nations in Lagos in 2014.

In an article he titled ‘Murder in the Church (Part 1),’ Mr. Fani-Kayode described the “blowing up of the building by our intelligence agencies” as Nigeria’s version of the 911 terrorist attack in the US.

“The whole thing appears to have been covered up and those in high places in the intelligence agencies at the time, having discovered that this was yet another rogue operation by a group of fifth columnists within the security apparatus who were keen on silencing the Presidents friends and who wanted to use the operation to embarrass and terrify their perceived enemies and adversaries, decided to brush the whole thing under the carpet and keep it quiet,” Mr. Fani-Kayode said.

At least 115 people, mostly foreigners, died after an under-construction building collapsed while additional floors were being added to it.

A coroner’s inquest instituted by the Lagos State government following the incidentindicted the church, accusing it of “criminal negligence” by failing to obtain the requisite permit before adding additional floors to the collapsed building.

The coroner recommended that the church be prosecuted.

The Lagos State government said it would not prosecute the church for criminal negligence, but commenced prosecution of the engineers involved in the collapsed building.

But the church, which is owned by popular televangelist Temitope Joshua (popularly known as TB Joshua) had immediately rejected the coroner’s report, saying it was “one-sided.”

The church had maintained throughout the inquest that the building collapse was caused by sabotage, with one of their witnesses saying that the “plane-like object” that flew over the building minutes before it collapsed fired an “infrasonic weapon” – a low sound radiation used to cause structural damage and destruction to objects.

RelatedNews

How security operatives ‘attempted to arrest’ Sunday Igboho

VIDEO: How bandits terrorised Kagara for years before students abduction

Lagos to shut down Third Mainland bridge ‘before final opening’ – Official

VIDEO: What Bawa told Senate about himself

In his piece, Mr. Fani-Kayode largely pushed the sound weapon attack narrative, insisting that the motive was to silence and discredit Mr. Joshua who, according to him, was exposing the deepest secrets of those working against then president, Goodluck Jonathan.

TB Joshua
TB Joshua

“The attack involved the use of certain members of our intelligence agencies who used a large remote-controlled drone to fly over the building and who then activated an explosive device which had been planted in the building days earlier with the drone.

“There is a video on YouTube of the drone hovering at very close range over the building three times just before it collapsed. I urge readers to look for it and view it.

Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1)

“After the third time, the entire building collapsed like a pack of cards. This was after a loud explosion, which was clearly heard by many of the survivors within and outside of the building, shattered the tranquillity, peace and silence of the structure and blew out its foundations.”

Mr. Fani-Kayode said the claims that the building collapsed due to the weight of the additional floors being added to it was implausible and lacks credibility.

“As trusting as ever, the Nigerian people bought this hideous mendacity lock, stock and barrel whilst many prominent clerics and Church leaders who were envious of Joshua’s rising profile, power and popularity revelled in the lie and helped to preach, spread, perpetuate and consolidate it,” he said.

“They argued that the building was built without the relevant permits and conveniently overlooked the fact that, according to my sources at Alausa, Lagos state, between 60 and 70 percent of buildings in the environs and suburbs of Lagos state either never had a building permit in the first place, procured one only after the relevant building was constructed or have fake ones which were procured through bribes.

“That being the case it seems strange that far many more buildings have not collapsed in Lagos if the assumption is that they all have weak foundations.”

Femi Fani-Kayode
Femi Fani-Kayode

The ex-minister said the security agents ought to have called in forensic-based and professional investigators but, instead, began looking for a scapegoat in the person of Mr. Joshua.

ADVERTISEMENT

“They ignored all the evidence that suggested that there was far more to the matter than that and instead sold this unlikely and utterly absurd narrative and dummy to the Nigerian people and the international community,” he said.

“They then proceeded to initiate criminal proceedings against Joshua and some of his Church members and sought to discredit, disgrace, shame and utterly destroy him.

“With this they had managed to divert attention away from the real cause of the collapse of the building, they had found an easy and convenient scapegoat and consequently the real perpetrators managed to escape any form of suspicion or scrutiny.”

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket

Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: To advertise here . Call Willie +2347088095401...


JOIN THE CONVERSATION

  • Disqus (0)
premiumtimes



PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

Court adjourns gay marriage trial of 53 persons

Next Post

State govts must pay more attention to basic education – Minister

Ben Ezeamalu

Ben Ezeamalu

Ben Ezeamalu is an Assistant Managing Editor and the Head of Lagos Operations/Metro Editor at PREMIUM TIMES. A graduate of Microbiology from the University of Jos, Ben won the 2015 Africa Fact-Check Awards and was a runner-up in the 2014 CNN/Multichoice African Journalists of the Year. Twitter: @callmebenfigo.

More News

Former President Goodluck Jonathan

Jonathan bags African peace award

February 27, 2021
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

2023: ‘Young professionals’ donate N10m for Tinubu presidency

February 26, 2021
A back view of Samuel Akinbodewa, the 77-year-old father of the detained woman and his two grandchildren.

Lagos govt moves to free woman jailed six years without trial

February 26, 2021
Ekiti State University

Court orders Ekiti State University to reinstate 85 sacked workers

February 25, 2021
National primary health care development agency, NPHCDA.

COVID-19: NPHCDA to train 100,000 health workers ahead of vaccine arrival

February 25, 2021
President Muhammadu Buhari receives new EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa [PHOTO CREDIT: @BashirAhmaad]

Buhari meets new EFCC Chair at Aso Villa

February 25, 2021
Next Post
EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian govt releases fee schedule for Unity Schools

State govts must pay more attention to basic education - Minister

Why Nigeria still battles with leprosy – Health Minister

Nigeria 'records 4,000 untreated cases of leprosy annually'

Discussion about this post

Search

#EndSARS: Latest Updates




Polaris Bank


JAIZ Ad


NITDA Ad





Glo Ad

Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address and receive notifications of news by email.

Join 1,625,368 other subscribers.

Advertisement






netherland biz school Advert

Zenith Advert
ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • Opinion
  • PT Hausa
  • The Membership Club
  • Dubawa
    • Dubawa NG
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.