We abandoned rescue work for fear of attack by Synagogue members – NEMA
How I got to know about the Synagogue building collapse I was in the mosque for the Jumat prayers and my phone was on silent. As an emergency worker, one has to be on the alert for 24 hours daily. So, immediately we finished saying prayers, I checked my phone and saw an alert. I […]
How I got to know about the Synagogue building collapse
I was in the mosque for the Jumat prayers and my phone was on silent. As an emergency worker, one has to be on the alert for 24 hours daily. So, immediately we finished saying prayers, I checked my phone and saw an alert. I immediately got in touch with some people within the Ikotun area, to be sure. We had received several false alerts in the past, so one needed to be sure. I contacted the people to also ascertain if it was a minor incident because most of the alerts we had received of building collapse were on dilapidated houses undergoing construction. After about five minutes, we were able to confirm it. I alerted other stakeholders like the Fire Service, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and others, while we also moved in.
Barely after 30 to 40 minutes of the confirmation, we arrived there and met LASEMA officials on ground. I think they were doing something within the vicinity, so they were able to move there quickly. Fire Service officials met us there. It was around 2pm.
The church members were doing the search and rescue and the LASEMA officials could not move in. When you get such an alert, you have to study the ground and get information. They couldn’t do anything, they were just hanging around. So when we moved in, the church members wanted to resist us, but after some threats and other things [they backed off]. You know, we had to tell them the implications. One thing I did when I saw the way they were behaving was to ask for their legal adviser, because I knew that the legal adviser would know the implications of trying to stop rescuers. Though I tried as much as I could, the legal adviser could not turn up. The police were there but they said there was nothing they could do and that they were there just to guide against anything.
At the time we got there, about 15 bodies had been recovered. When I saw the way things were being conducted, and being a journalist, I did my own independent inquiry and showed them (the church members) my sympathy, so one or two of them were able to tell me that some people had been brought out alive. They said about 15 persons were brought out alive, while 15 bodies were also removed. That was where we took it up from – not taking over, per se. But I developed a way of getting people to work with us. The hostility was still there.
We moved out of the place around 6:45pm on the day of the crash because of the hostility. We were not allowed to do our work. I didn’t how they see us. I then realized that if we stayed there overnight, we would be attacked. So for our own safety, we had to withdraw. The situation was too rowdy that nobody could pinpoint anybody as a leader. Nobody was ready to work with us or give us any information.
When we pulled out of the site of the collapsed building, we pitched our tent not too far away, but away from any possible threat or danger. Around 9pm on the same day, we had to move out of the area completely. All rescue workers pulled out of the area but later in the night, LASEMA officials said the state governor was visiting the scene. They then went back close to the place. But unfortunately, the governor didn’t visit that night as scheduled. That was why they too had to move out – for the second time – since the governor did not come.
We got back to the site as early as 7am on Saturday. We got there before LASEMA. I did not see any much gap in the figure of those that were rescued alive and the dead, because, as I told you, I developed a system whereby no single information would get past me without me getting it. Fortunately, they allowed fire service officials to stay back. I instructed them to remove their uniform and to pretend to be church workers and I placed them at strategic positions. So as the operations were going on, they were taking count. In the morning of Saturday, I reconciled the figures with those that were given to me by some of the church members who had confidence in me.
On Saturday, we were allowed free access to the place but we started the rescue fully on Sunday, around 12 to 1pm, a few hours before the governor’s arrival. When we took over on Sunday, the issue was that nobody could give us actual information. With respect to an incident of that magnitude, we have to get someone who will tell us the actual design of the building. The person will have to tell us where this is a room, store or warehouse. There could be places where people were trapped. This will give us idea of where to concentrate much more.
On Saturday and Sunday, we were able to get so many people out alive. I cannot give the actual figure right now.
The ambulances that were used belong to the church, they were not Lagos State government’s ambulances. When it comes to emergency, all hands must be on deck, so one does not have to be specific about this or that. All hospitals must accept the treatment of victims. It is later that you can start referring them to advanced hospitals. The first point of call is to take them to the closest hospital. We used hospitals around the Ikotun area, mostly private hospitals. The largest number was taken to Igando General Hospital, while the deceased persons were taken to Isolo General Hospital’s mortuary.
On the figures released by the South African government
We got to the ground zero before we left. So there is no possibility of anyone or anybody still being trapped under [rubbles]. I don’t want to go into that (South Africa’s casualty figure) issue because, initially, they said 323 of their citizens were removed and later they said another 25 persons were taken to their country. It is a diplomatic issue. What we have to do is what we have done and we have given you the figures.
Cause of collapse
I watched the CCTV footage, showing a very small object moving about four times around the building. It was after 50 minutes of its last appearance that the building collapsed. This is according to the CCTV. I did not have to discuss with survivors, because it is not our responsibility to do so. Our duty is for them to overcome their trauma and stabilize.
When NEMA’s director of search and rescue visited T.B. Joshua, the staff were asking me, “are you the same person that acted that way all these days?” It was then that I asked them why they stopped us and they said they did not know anything about NEMA or LASEMA and that it was only the Fire Service that they knew. These were church members who said that they thought we were there to attack them. Surprisingly, these are Nigerians. What I observe is that all the residents of that place watch only Emmanuel Television. Most of the problem they had was ignorance. No arrest was made, it was an international issue. Most of the people who acted that funny way were foreigners. So we were very careful in handling the matter.
We were able to manage the situation because we were trained to handle such situations.