The Coroner’s Inquest investigating the collapsed building belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations yesterday concluded taking evidence from witnesses in spite of the failure of the founder of the church, Prophet Temitope Joshua to appear before the inquest.

The coroner, Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, had on several occasions issued witness summons on the clergyman but on each occasion, he failed to turn up in court.

Joshua had instead of appearing to testify before the inquest gone before the Lagos State High Court to challenge the jurisdiction of the Coroner’s Court to conduct the investigation and to summon him.

He had also urged the court to declare that the coroner had exceeded the jurisdiction of a coroner’s court by delving into areas that were beyond its scope.

Though his application was dismissed by Justice Lateefa Okunnu for lack of merit, Joshua had further run to the Court of Appeal to overturn the High Court’s decision.

The Lagos State government had set up the inquest under the state Coroner’s System Law No.7 of 2007 to investigate the cause and circumstances resulting in the death of 116 people, most of whom were foreigners.

At the resumption of the proceedings yesterday, Magistrate Komolafe fixed June 2 for the adoption of final written addresses by the different parties involved in the inquest after listening to the last witness from the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Engr. Dr. Victor Oyenuga.

The Coroner’s Inquest, which commenced sitting on October 13, 2014, had called many witnesses including Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, the Lagos State Ministry of Works, the surveyor-general of the state, the SCOAN building contractors, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism.