Nigerian preacher TB Joshua was on Wednesday slapped in the face by a judicial order as Nigeria’s Chief Magistrate ruled that he is attempting to abuse court processes for personal gain.
Joshua made an application to the High Court seeking to avoid being called for questioning, and also forcing the courts to avoid investigations into the building materials and procedures for the collapsed building which killed 116 church members. But delivering Chief Magistrate Komolafe delivering his judgement Wednesday described the application as an abuse of court process, stating that there was no automatic appeal against the findings and conclusions of a Coroner Court. Komolafe held that the proceeding before the coroner court ‘is a judicial inquiry into the cause of the collapsed guest house belonging to SCOAN which claimed the lives of 116 victims.
While stating that there was no party before the court, the Coroner declared that all the authorities cited by the counsel while adopting their written addresses had nothing to do with the proceedings.
“This court cannot adjudicate on this motion on notice as doing so would amount to operating outside the scope of a Coroner Court,” he ruled.
TB Joshua was seeking the Lagos Coroner to issue a restraining order on issues relating to calling of witnesses in respect of the building approval or material tests of the collapsed building and also to avoid the requirement for Joshua to appear before the inquest to give vital evidence required by the Magistrate.
Of the 116 people who died in the building were three Zimbabweans who include top MDC-T politician Greenwich Ndanga.