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Synagogue tragedy update: South Africa repatriates her dead citizens

Two months after the collapse of a building in the Prophet T.B Joshua led Synagogue Church of All Nations on September 12, 2014, the South African government has recovered and repatriated 74 bodies of its citizens on Saturday, November 15, 2014.

Pastor T.B Joshua
Prophet T.B Joshua

The bodies were removed from Isolo and Mainland Hospital, Yaba in Lagos State on Friday, November 14, 2014 while the airlifting of the remains was done on Saturday, November 15, 2014.

Insiders from the South African camp revealed to ENCOMIUM Weekly that the South Africans were not too happy with the way the Lagos State government kept the corpses under the disguise of Coroner’s Inquest, insisting they are not interested in that but the release of their loved ones so they could give them a befitting burial.

We reliably gathered that it took a presidential intervention of both countries before the corpses could be released. Consequently, a South African government official, Jeff Radebe met with Governor Babatunde Fashola  of Lagos on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 giving the country the go-ahead to collect the bodies.

The South African team, including military personnel, forensic experts and pathologists arrived Nigeria around midnight and headed for the two general hospitals to identify and repatriate the bodies of their compatriots.

Interestingly, the South Africans, who arrived the country in two aircraft, shunned local facilities and items. They came with four forensic pathology trucks, generators, water, buses, pick-up vehicles and other items.

But, according to the Lagos State Chief Forensic Pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa, the South African and Nigerian teams were only able to identify 66 bodies.

“We’ve so far identified 40 bodies at the Yaba Mainland Hospital mortuary and another 26 bodies were identified at the Isolo General Hospital,” Obafunwa said.

Speaking further, the Lagos pathologist stated, “We have been busy since yesterday (Friday) in preparation for today (Saturday). We have been here for 24 hours, getting the bodies ready; the bodies tagged, in preparation for today. We have the bodies that were located essentially in two mortuaries; the few bodies in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital’s mortuary were moved to Yaba Mainland Hospital. And we have some bodies at the Isolo General Hospital.

“We knew the South African team would arrive today. They came in around midnight. They came with their military, forensic and autopsy personnel. There’s been cooperation between us and the South African team. They arrived here at 4am. We started by identifying the bodies and setting up tents and other things. By 6am we started picking each body, decontaminating them further and bagging them, all these were done by the South African team.”

Reacting on the equipment brought into the country by the experts, Obafunwa took a swipe at the Federal Government for its inability to make provisions for forensic science laboratories across the country, the lack of which, he said, had often led to mass burial of victims of major disasters in Nigeria.

He said, “Nothing is too much to spend on identifying victims of disasters, taking care of the dead through forensic pathology services. Look at what the South Africans have demonstrated to us. One vehicle for each of their provinces, and the population is so small; should there be a mass disaster in a particular area that requires three or four of these trucks, they will be mobilised from other provinces to that place. Nigeria needs a functional forensic science laboratory. And why is this too difficult for the FG to establish? We don’t have a single functional forensic science laboratory in this country.

The victims were identified through DNA analysis.

-FEMI OYEWALE

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