Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state says government would investigate the circumstances leading to the collapse of a church building which led to the death of one person and left two others injured.
Oshiomhole gave the assurance weekend when he visited the site of the collapsed Christ Chosen Church of God and addressed the residents of the area.
“My appeal to you all is that even as painful as it is, we should avoid doing anything that would compound the problem as government will certainly investigate what happened, and if anybody is involved in criminal negligence, he or she will not be spared,” Gov. Oshiomhole said.
The governor also said, “nobody should take laws into their hands by thinking that somebody plans to kill anybody. Someone must have taken a wrong decision, done the wrong calculations.”
“But no matter what anybody has done, government will take the necessary steps by carrying out a thorough investigation with a view to establishing if anyone is guilty or involved in criminal negligence and if there is, such a person would be prosecuted according to the law.”
“Government has a duty to protect lives and properties and I want to assure you that we will not cover up anybody. The fact that the Commissioner of Police has been here for hours alongside some very senior Police officers tells you the seriousness attached to this and when we begin investigations, the Commissioner of Police will be a witness, which would give credibility and assurance that justice will be done,” he said.
“I want to appeal to you, first, to listen. We should give thanks to God that in spite of what happened, from the information I have received from the Police and other people who witnessed the incident, the situation could have been far more serious than it is.
“I also believe the Police have acted very reasonably and we thank God that the Commissioner of Police and the entire hierarchy of the Edo state Police Command responded promptly. The mobilization of the various construction companies to respond and help rescue those who were trapped is quite commendable too”, he said.
“The church is under the law, pastors are under the law, church goers are under the law, so nobody is above the law.”
