The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) has asked the Nigerian government to speed up the process of returning all the remains of victims to their families for burial in South Africa, according to a report from South Africa’s News 24.
“The church has pleaded with the Nigerian government to expedite the repatriation process in order for families to bury the deceased with dignity and receive closure,” said Kirsten Nematandani, a SCOAN spokesperson.
Spokesman Nematandani also announced that the SCOAN church is donating a sum of 50, 000 rand, which is equivalent to about 750, 000 naira or 4,500 dollars, to each victim’s family for various expenses.
“We have done a full audit of each family’s financial needs and assisted with various household expenses, as many of the deceased were breadwinners,” Nematandani said in the statement.
Over a 100 people, mostly South African pilgrims, died when a guesthouse within the SCOAN compound collapsed on September 12.
T.B. Joshua, who initially suggested that a plane flying over the SCOAN premises may have been responsible for the disaster, has been ordered by Lagos Coroner, Oyetade Komolafe, to attend and present his account of the September 12 incident at the ongoing inquest proceedings on November 5.
