Samson Folarin
No fewer than three worshippers at the
Synagogue Church of all Nations, Ikotun, Lagos State, have been
confirmed dead after a stampede on the church’s premises on Saturday.
learnt that the
victims were part of a crowd that struggled to see the church’s General
Overseer, Prophet Temitope Joshua, during a special healing service.
Our correspondent gathered that while
two of the victims were identified as Emeka Okonkwo and Emmanuel Oherin,
the third victim had yet to be identified.
Their corpses were said to have been deposited in a morgue in the state.
An eyewitness, who did not want to be identified, said the stampede occurred around 4.30am.
He said, “It was the church’s annual
deliverance and healing programme. Usually at this time, the church
becomes a beehive of activities as people come in their thousands to see
the prophet for miracles.
“People lodge in different hotels surrounding the church. And they all arrive at the church very early.
“There is a canopy on the premises where worshippers are screened before they see the man of God.
“However, on Saturday, after being
screened, the crowd was much and they started struggling through the
doorway to see the prophet. In the process, three people collapsed. They
were rushed to the Isolo General Hospital, where they were confirmed
dead.”
Another source said the two victims were
identified through their phones, adding that the third victim did not
have any means of identification.
“Their families were immediately
contacted and they identified them. The police from the Ikotun division
were also contacted,” he added.
A police source said the corpses were
taken in an ambulance, adding that the Ikotun Divisional Crime Officer
and the Area Commander, Area M, accompanied them to the mortuary.
As of 2pm when our correspondent left the area, a service was still on in Synagogue.
When contacted, an official of the
church, who did not want to be identified, urged our correspondent to
forward his enquiries to the church’s email address.
He said, “Mr. Folarin, while I
appreciate the fact that you have to do your job as a journalist, I also
must protect my personal integrity. I will advise you send a mail to info@scoan.org to confirm before publishing any story.
“Sometimes, rumours get to the press and
injure the reputation (of) our subjects, thereby making journalism look
like a witch-hunt.
“I will also advise you to be most objective. Please send a mail to the email address before publishing any story.”
Our correspondent sent an enquiry around 3.54pm which had yet to be replied to as of press time.
When our correspondent called a
telephone number spotted on the church’s website, another official with a
foreign accent, denied the incident.
She said, “Nothing happened on the church premises yesterday. Nobody died. Nobody. Thank you.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, however, confirmed the incident, adding that investigations were ongoing.
She said, “The story is true.
Investigation is ongoing as we await the result of the autopsy. For now,
we are treating the case as sudden and unnatural deaths.”
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