The Nigerian Society of Engineers on Friday said that it would study the Coroner’s Inquest judgment into the Synagogue Church of All Nations building collapse for possible disciplinary actions against its erring members.
The President of the association, Ademola Olorunfemi, made the NSE’s position known to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
Olorunfemi, an engineer, said: “We need to get the details of the judgment.
“It is not enough to call somebody an engineer.
“We will check our records to confirm if truly they are certified engineers.
“We will make our findings known to the public.
“We have our own procedure.
“It’s a tribunal by law and with government backing.
“So; if that is true, they will be tried there.”
Olorunfemi said the society will not hesitate to penalise the said engineers if found to be registered members of the body.
He said: “There are appropriate punishments meant for that, including completely deregistering the member.
“But the first thing is that we need to establish that those persons are really engineers.
“Everybody calls himself an engineer.”
The president advised the public not to patronise unlicensed engineers to curtail recurring building collapses across the country.
Olorunfemi said: “If you want to do any project, you must engage the professionals.
“You start from the architect and get the briefs and then you move up to the different categories of engineers.
“They include: structural engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical amongst others.
“But people think they will just collect fees and the outcome is terrible.”
Olorunfemi, therefore, advocated the prosecution of individuals, who patronised quacks, saying: “It is your responsibility as a client – government and individuals – to ensure jobs are given to professionals.
“For the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, you can even find the names of their members on its website.”
NAN reports that the Lagos State Government had on October 13, 2014 instituted a Coroner’s inquest into the collapse of the guest house belonging to SCOAN, which occurred on September 12, 2014, in which 116 worshipers lost their lives.
The coroner, Oyetade Komolafe, confirmed the figure of the deceased, their names, sexes, ages and addresses while delivering his judgment on July 8.
Komolafe said the people died as a result of the collapsed building, adding that six of them were yet to be identified by the medical examiners.
Komolafe said 85 victims were South Africans, 22 Nigerians, two Beninoise and one Togolese.
It comprises 60 males and 56 females.
Among the male victims was a child of about six years.
The coroner, in his ruling, said the engineer and the architect who supervised the construction should be prosecuted by the relevant authority.
NAN.
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