There was a fire outbreak at the Synagogue Church of All Nations located in Ikotun area of Lagos State on Monday night.
The PUNCH gathered that the fire, which gutted a store house in the church’s premises, started around 11 pm.
The fire incident happened on the night of the candle procession in honour of the late founder of the Church, Prophet Temitope Joshua, popularly called T.B. Joshua.
Members of the church, who had attended the night of tributes and candlelight procession in his honour, watched in horror.
The scene of the fire outbreak
It was learnt that firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire incident around 12:19 am on Tuesday.
An eyewitness said the fire had been put out before the arrival of the fire service.
“An electrical spark at the control room caused the fire. It happened after the candlelight procession,” he added.
The church confirmed the fire incident in a press statement, saying there was no casualty.
The statement read, “In the late evening of Monday 5th July 2021, there was a minor electrical fire incident at a storehouse within The Synagogue Church Of All Nations complex.
“The incident was quickly brought under control without any injuries.
“As part of the preparedness for the weeklong services celebrating the life and legacy of Prophet TB Joshua, The SCOAN has worked closely with relevant government agencies including the Lagos State Fire Services, whose members were on the ground at the time of the incident.
“We thank God for His continued protection. We assure the general public that there is no cause for alarm and the services celebrating the life and legacy of Prophet TB Joshua will continue as scheduled.”
The pastor, televangelist, philanthropist, leader and founder of The Synagogue died on June 5 at the age of 57.
Another scene of the fire outbreak
His widow, Evelyn Joshua, led the candlelight procession at the SCOAN Faith Resort in the Ikotun area of Lagos.
SCOAN had announced that TB Joshua would be laid to rest on Friday, July 9, at the church premises in Lagos.
The Lagos State Government had inspected facilities at the Synagogue Church of All Nations for COVID safety and prevention protocols compliance in preparation for the funeral of its late founder, Prophet Temitope Joshua.
The delegation from the Lagos State Government was led by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, and the Director-General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola.
Speaking after the inspection of the church facilities and meeting with the church officials, Abayomi said the inspection was in line with the third wave mitigation strategy of the Lagos State Government to prevent the importation and spread of new deadly strains of COVID into Lagos and Nigeria.
Abayomi added that the inspection and meeting with officials of SCOAN were to limit any possibilities of the introduction of foreign COVID variants among the congregation and by extension to the community.
While noting that there are some areas of infection prevention protocols that needed strengthening in the church, Abayomi assured that those areas would be strengthened before and during the funeral activities.
The team inspected the auditorium, marquee tent, hostel accommodation for international guests and sanitary facilities.
