Alleged Prejudice: Anglican Church asks Soludo to withdraw two from Onitsha building collapse probe

The Diocese of Niger (Anglican Communion), owners of the collapsed Centenary Building at the Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha, which collapsed in the early hours of June 12, 2024, has called on Gov. Chukwuma Soludo to drop two prominent professionals from the panel he set up to investigate the reasons for the building’s collapse.

The two members, Prof. Akaolisa Ezeagu, who chairs the panel, and Engr. Victor Meju, a key member of the panel, were reported to have made prejudiced comments publicly and in publications following the collapse of the building.

A letter from the Church to the Governor by a team of legal practitioners led by their Counsel, Nnamdi Ibegbu (SAN), expressed worry that the public and the diocese may not get a fair hearing with the persons who have allegedly demonstrated manifest bias and unprofessionalism on the matter as members of the panel.

The legal team cited the Sun Newspaper publication of June 16, 2024, under the column “Voice of the Nation” with the heading “No Approval Given For The Collapsed Onitsha School Building – NBRRI,” where Prof. Akaolisa Ezeagu allegedly made comments and publicly concluded that there was no authorization from any quarters before the gigantic structure was erected.

Akaolisa, according to them, had also in the same publication, even before the commencement of investigations, attributed the collapse of the building to a poor foundation, which he claimed was a result of a disconnect between the building team and the Technical Engineer.

They further cited the Punch Newspaper of June 14, 2024, with the headline “Three More Victims Rescued from Anambra Collapsed Building As Probe Begins,” where Meju, a Mechanical Engineer and Chairman of the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN), Anambra State Chapter, stated that “the collapse could be traced to a faulty foundation and substandard materials used for construction.”

The diocese therefore pointed out to the governor that Akaolisa and Meju, having acted “unprofessionally,” would likely not give an unbiased decision in the panel’s work.

They pleaded with the governor to withdraw the “two persons from the panel or, in the alternative, allow the two persons to honourably recuse themselves from the panel, so that natural justice, equity, good conscience, and fairness shall prevail in the deliberation and report of the panel.”

They, however, commended the governor for setting up the panel to investigate the immediate and remote causes of building collapses in parts of the state.

The diocese said that the laudable initiative by the governor will help ensure utmost professionalism in the construction sector in the state.