A "mysterious" aircraft videoed by security cameras as flying
over Synagogue Church guest house shortly before the
structure collapsed killing many visitors and worshippers in
September, may have been a Nigerian Airforce jet, a
coroner’s court heard Thursday.
The founder of Synagogue Church, TB Joshua blamed the
airplane for the collapse of the building, and that the church
was targeted by terrorists.
While testifying at the ongoing coroner’s inquest into the
circumstances surrounding the collapse, Toyin Ayinde, the
Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban
Development, disclosed that his ministry enquired from the
aviation authorities about the identity of the aircraft.
Three days after the building collapse, Mr. Ayinde said
officials from his ministry were sent to the church to check
the coordinates of the site.
Afterwards, a copy of the coordinates and the CCTV
footage of the incident was sent to the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority, NCAA.
The ministry also attached a three point question that
sought to know the identity of the aircraft seen in the
video, its altitude, and its flight path coordinates.
“The NCAA responded that there was a request by the
Nigerian Air Force (NAF) that they might conduct some
rehearsals on that day,” said Mr. Ayinde.
The commissioner stated that their calculations determined
that the NAF aircrafts would be flying at altitudes of about
1,100 feet above sea level – the equivalent of 109 floors
above a building.
“We also discovered that the minimum distance the aircraft
would be from the building was about 137 metres,
equivalent to one and half-length of a standard football
field,” said Mr. Ayinde.
In the CCTV footage released by the church after the
incident, an aircraft was seen flying over the building on the
morning of September 12. On four occasions, an aircraft
flew over the building, and minutes later, the entire
structure crumbled.
T.B Joshua had blamed the “strange plane hovering above
the building” for the collapse.
According to Premium Times, at Thursday’s proceedings, the
CCTV footage was replayed in court.
A still image of an aircraft flying close to the building, taken
with a mobile phone by a member of the church, was also
displayed.
Mr. Ayinde said he could not tell if it was the same aircraft
that flew over the building four times. And the letter from
NCAA did not specifically identify the aircraft in the CCTV
footage.
“I didn’t see a hovering of an aircraft, I saw aircraft but not
hovering. There is a uniform directional movement and it is
understandable because that area is close to the airport,”
said Mr. Ayinde, adding that the display in court was the
second time he was watching the footage.
“I cannot confirm that it is the same aircraft, it could be four
different aircrafts moving in the same pattern. I did not see
that the aircraft move remarkably close to the collapsed
building.”
During cross examination by Olalekan Ojo, the church’s
lawyer, Mr. Ayinde said he could not tell if the aircraft was
flying below the estimated altitude.
Mr. Ojo said that residents of Ikotun, the area where the
church is situated, had lodged a complaint at their local
police station about aircrafts flying at “very low levels”
before the September 12 incident.
The coroner’s inquest continues on November 5.
