Structural Engineer says crash caused by faulty foundation

oge okonkwo

March 5, 2015 9:59 PM

The structural engineer, who was led by the Lagos State Government’s counsel, Akingbolahon Adeniran, stated that he was among the team of structural and geo-technical engineers that conducted a Structural Integrity Test on the collapsed building

A structural engineer, Saheed Ariyori testified on Wednesday at the coroner’s inquest, that the collapse of the guesthouse owned by T.B. Joshua of Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) was as a result of a faulty foundation.

At the inquest which was presided by Chief Magistrate, Oyetade Komolafe, Ariyori, a consultant to the Lagos State Material Testing Agency said this as a witness.

The collapse occurred on September 12, 2014, and claimed 116 lives, who were mostly South Africans.

Daily Independent reports that the structural engineer, who was led by the Lagos State Government’s counsel, Akingbolahon Adeniran, stated that he was among the team of structural and geo-technical engineers that conducted a Structural Integrity Test on the collapsed building.

According to him, samples of materials used in the construction of the building were collected by the team and taken to the laboratory for tests; they also took measurement of foundation base.

He stated that since the church did not furnish them with the design of the building, the team had to simulate the building to arrive at their conclusions.

Ariyori said: “based on all the tests and the calculations, we discovered that from inception, the building failed because the base that was supposed to take the load was grossly inadequate.

“The minimum base that will be required should have been 4.5 metres by 4.5 metres but what we had there was 2.2 metres by 2.2 metres.

“It was a wrong choice of foundation base; the foundation should have been continuous base and not a pad as was used in the construction.”

After being presented a copy of the structural design of the collapsed building, he analysed the defect before the court, adding that the load imposed on the foundation was beyond what it could carry, saying that led to the collapse.

SCOAN’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, in responding to the claim urged the court to adjourn his cross-examination of the witness in order for him to consult the church’s engineers.

He noted that there were a couple of discrepancies in the building design, which needed to be clarified before the witness could be cross-examined.

He said the church’s consultant engineer, Oladele Ogundeji, while testifying before the court, had disagreed with Ayiroyi’s claim that a raft foundation should have been erected for the structure.

The inquest was adjourned till March 5 for site visitation by parties while Ariyori’s cross-examination was fixed for March 6.

oge okonkwo