SCOAN Collapse: Surviving South Africans To Go Back Home

South Africans injured in the collapse of the Synagogue, Church of all Nations’ guest house are to be evacuated by a government-sent South African aircraft.

SCOAN-TB

Recall that the tragedy struck on September 12.  At least 86 persons are reported dead, 84 South Africa nationals among them.

South African officials said on Saturday they were not planning to return the bodies of the deceased to the country at least for a week because of the ongoing identification procedures by South African forensic experts.

The next-of-kin of only ten dead South Africans have been notified so far thanks to the identity documents found on the deceased.

The aircraft, which was to leave for Lagos early on Sunday, would remain briefly on the ground while loading the injured South Africans before returning. Medical personnel would be on board to treat them in the air.

About 30 South Africans are believed to be in hospital in Lagos. The government’s announcement that it will repatriate them will come as a relief to humanitarian workers who have battled to gain access to them in Lagos.

No conflict between South Africans and Nigerians?

In a related development, the South African government debunked reports of a “diplomatic spat” allegedly caused by the way the tragedy was being handled by the Nigerian authorities.

According to some reports, President Goodluck Jonathan and his government had offended Pretoria by taking too long to express condolences to South Africa.

After a slow start, which it blamed partly on the lack of co-operation mainly from the SCOAN, the South African government has now mobilised a major effort to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy. Forensic experts, doctors to and welfare counsellors were sent to Lagos to help the injured and their families.

Meanwhile an audio file purporting to record TB Joshua, head of the SCOAN, bribingNigerian journalists on how to report the story of the collapsed church has surfaced on the internet.

Furthermore, reports in South African press indicate that the Nigerian government “seems to have made a deliberate decision to block entry to South African journalists to avoid negative publicity”. No South African media houses have been able to get visas for their journalists to enter Nigeria.

On Saturday, President Goodluck Jonathan visited the collapsed guest house, promising to investigate the cause of the tragedy.