Prof Wole Soyinka has opined that Prophet TB Joshua, of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), should have been prosecuted by the Nigerian government over the collapse of the church building that claimed the lives of over 100 persons.
According to Soyinka, the incident which occured in 2014 was as a result of negligence on the part of the revered cleric.
The Nobel Laureate stated this during the reading and signing of his latest books in Abuja on Saturday, May 8, saying TB Joshua should have been punished for flouting laws that govern the setting up of such an establishment.
Read Also: Group Seeks Amnesty for Reverend King
Soyinka emphasized the tragedy was a direct result of the carelessness on the part of the SCOAN leadership, in contradiction of the of the Prophet’s claims that it was an attack from a strange aircraft.
He further lamented religion has assumed a national character, which does not promote accountability in Nigeria.
Prof Whole Soyinka said;
“Somehow, religion has almost a national character and so it doesn’t matter who it is or what he does. He can get away with a lot.
“Look at TB Joshua for instance whose chapel of whatever it is in Lagos, collapsed on the congregation. Not just Nigerians, close to 200 or 300. They came from South Africa and so on and so forth. “This is somebody who should have been charged for carelessness, for flouting the laws required for setting up public establishments.
“The next thing he said is that, oh! It was an air force plane that was hovering around that cracked the walls and buried humanity. Has he been brought to trial till today?”
In another news, a group has called on the Nigerian government to grant amnesty to Reverend King, saying many other Nigerians who have committed more grievous crimes have been pardoned by the country.
