LAGOS — Fire has destroyed the tomb shelter of the late founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet Temitope Joshua, at Agodo, Egbe, Lagos State.
The fire was said to have started around 6.30pm on Wednesday, April 27.
Confirming the development to Punch on Wednesday, Ibrahim Farinloye, the Acting Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said the fire incident happened at a building where T.B Joshua usually went for relaxation while alive, adding that federal fire service officials came to the rescue.
He said, “The incident happened at a building belonging to the late pastor. The late pastor usually went there to relax and meditate. Federal fire service officials moved in to put out the fire.”
Speaking on the incident, the Head, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services, Margaret Adeseye, said it was the tomb shelter of the late pastor that caught fire.
She further stated that the agency was able to quench the fire and stop it from spreading, adding that the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
She said, “It is confirmed that a section around the tomb of the late pastor TB Joshua caught fire. A shelter was built to cover the tomb because it is an open place, so, it was the shelter that caught fire. But we were able to curtail it and it did not spread beyond where it started. We have yet to identify the cause of the fire.”
Meanwhile, the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in a statement on the church’s official Facebook page on Thursday, confirmed the fire outbreak.
According to the statement, the inferno started from a general-purpose store at the church’s old site in Agodo, Egbe, Lagos State and was successfully put out through the efforts of the ministry’s emergency response team.
It added that the cause of the outbreak was unknown and that no casualties were recorded.
The statement, titled Fire Outbreak At SCOAN Old Site: We Are On Top Of The Situation, read partly, “On the evening of Wednesday, April 27, 2022, a fire outbreak occurred at the old site of the SCOAN, located at Agodo, Egbe.
“The fire outbreak was from a general purpose store at the old site and has been successfully put out through the efforts of the ministry’s emergency response team, with no injuries whatsoever and no lives lost.
