Distraught and panic-stricken relatives have been searching for their loved ones, whom they claimed might be trapped under the collapsed Synagogue Church building in Ikotun, Lagos.
As they waited at the entrance of the church, policemen and church security operatives told them to stay away.
The family members were seen looking forlorn and frantically making phone calls to see if they could contact their loved ones.
A woman, who identified herself as Mrs. Rowland Ogbonaya, with a less-than-three-year-old child, was crying uncontrollably, begging security operatives stationed at the entrance of the church to be allowed into the premises to search for her husband, Rowland.
According to the woman, her husband, an electrical engineer, was one of the people working on one of the floors of the collapsed six-storey building.
She revealed that she had not been able to contact Rowland via the phone since the incident happened. She was however reprimanded by a policeman for wailing and was asked to move away from the gate leading into the church.
“They’re asking me to go home. I can’t go home when I can’t find my husband. How can I go home without my husband? I’ve been here since yesterday (Friday).
Another woman, Mrs. Adegoke, who was looking for her son, Gbenga, stated that she had not heard from her child since Friday, adding that phone calls made to all his lines had yielded no response.
Speaking further with one of correspondents, the woman claimed that some policemen threatened to push her away as she tried to find her through the crowd to gain entry into the church’s premises.
“I’ve called my son repeatedly. I’ve tried both his local and foreign lines. He’s a disciple of T.B. Joshua; sometimes he travels out of the country. But, since yesterday’s incident, I’ve not been able to reach him at all. Throughout Friday night, I couldn’t sleep.
“It is even more painful that these policemen could not show human kindness to some of us looking for our loved ones. One of them said he was going to push me away. I told him to try, if I’ll not tear him to pieces,” she said.
Another relative in search of his missing brother, who gave his name simply as Uztadh, said his older brother, Mikhail Lateef, was one of the people trapped in the collapsed building.
According to him, Lateef, a tile craftsman, went to work at the building Friday morning and has since not been seen or heard from.
Another woman, who was seen wailing inconsolably, said her friend, a South African lady, also could be one of those trapped under the debris. According to her, it was the South African’s first time in the country and both women met last on Thursday, in the now-collapsed guest house.
The woman was overheard saying family members of the foreigner were shaken by the news of the collapse and that the mother of possible victim had been inconsolable.
Meanwhile, a lot of pilgrims to the church were disappointed that service could not hold on Saturday but the church’s security men promised that there would be a service on Sunday.
Our source had a chat with two of such pilgrims from Ghana.
One of them, Mr. Moses Asimeni, said he flew into Nigeria on Friday night, saying he was oblivious of any incident in the church’s premises until Saturday morning.
Asimeni, who claimed to have lodged in a nearby hostel and had paid for three nights said he would leave on Sunday if no service was held.
A Nigerian woman based in Ghana also said she felt sad and disappointed about the tragedy and attributed the building’s collapse to “evildoers.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com