The defence in the trial over the building collapse at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Ejigbo, Lagos State on Monday objected to the admissibility of a Close Circuit Television generated recording connected with the wreckage.
At the resumed hearing of the case before a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, the defence counsel, Chief E. L. Akpofure, objected to the admissibility of a CD recording sought to be tendered as evidence.
The objection was made during continuation of the testimony of Olutoyin Ayinde, a former Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development.
The CD purportedly contained a CCTV recording of an aircraft hovering above the building moments before its collapse.
Akpofure said: “I am objecting my lord in the first place to the admissibility of document sought to be tendered by the prosecution because it has been labelled by the witness as being computer generated.
“Going by the evidence of the witness who said ‘until I watch the CD, I won’t be in a position to ascertain whether this is the video I am referring to in my evidence’, this witness is not in a position to tender this evidence until he sees the content and identifies same.
“This document is labelled as a Certified True Copy of planning permit, which has nothing to do with the video the witness is talking about and from his own evidence, the computer that produced the recording was not operated by him.”
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Titi Akinlawon, in her objection, said: “It is only the maker of a document that can tender it as evidence according to Section 83 of the Evidence Act.
“This document was not certified by him and on the strength of this, I contend that the document cannot be admitted as evidence.”
Also, Olalekan Ojo, in his objection, said: “The document is a copy of the original recording, which was given to the Lagos State Government by the General Overseer of SCOAN.
“Being a copy, it is my general submission that for admissibility in evidence, the prosecution has a duty to have what is being sought to be tendered by them authenticated by the church being the maker of the evidence.
Responding, Idowu Alakija, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, said the CD was admissible as evidence.
Alakija said: “My lord, the witness does not need to be the maker of the document for it to be admissible in evidence.
“A document is admissible irrespective of how it was obtained.
“Section 258 of the Evidence Act states clearly what can be classified as a document and this CD that has been certified I submit is a document.”
Earlier during Monday’s proceedings, Ayinde, while being led in evidence by Alakija, had told the court that he could not identify the contents of the CD until he viewed its contents.
He said: “We sent a copy of the CD to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Justice and at the time of the incident, other copies were made for personal use of some individuals.
“The video, which went viral on the internet, was also downloaded by the public.
“In my office, my Personal Assistant used a HP laptop to reproduce copies, which was a normal process.
“The laptop was used for official work and as at the time of my leaving office, that laptop was still in good condition.
“However, until I watch the contents of the CD about to be tendered as evidence, I won’t be in a position to ascertain whether this is the video I am referring to.”
Akinbela Fatiregun and Oladele Ogundeji, alongside their companies – Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited – and the trustees of Synagogue Church, are facing a 111-count charge bordering on gross negligence and criminal manslaughter.
The collapse of the seven-storey guest house, which occurred on September 12, 2014, led to the death of 116 persons, 85 of who were South Africans.
Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo adjourned the case till June 28 for ruling.
“This case is adjourned till tomorrow at 10am for ruling and further examination-in-chief of the prosecution witness,” Justice Lawal-Akapo said.