But Joshua blamed the collapse on a terror attack. The pastor said this after the church showed a clip taken from CCTV footage recording events that took place before and after the six-storey building collapsed. From the footage, a plane was seen hovering in the sky four times – at 11:30 a.m., 11:43 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 11:54 a.m. – before the building went down without something external triggering it.

Fifty minutes after the plane hovered the fourth time, the structure collapsed, at exactly 12:44 p.m. In his submission, Joshua said the building might have collapsed as a result of terror attack. He said the truth behind the collapsed building would be revealed in a few weeks, adding that the last time the Boko Haram issue occurred, some journalists and the police were against the church, but that after some weeks the truth behind the attack was revealed.

Joshua argued that the building, which he maintained had a solid foundation, would not have collapsed in the manner that the six-storey building came down, saying: “I was on the mountain yesterday, where I went to pray. After praying, I slept off. The place is about five minutes’ drive from here. While there, my members called me to say there was a plane trying to land. I told them not to worry, that only a helicopter could land, but they said they were worried as it was coming too close to the building, that maybe it was taking pictures.
“The same jet went around Ikotun. To our surprise, after flying round Ikotun it now came back on top of this building four times… It’s here… they would show you. As we are talking now, there is a surveillance camera in here. We have a role to play, we cannot leave everything to God.”

Joshua’s argument was punctured by the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde, who said that though investigation was still on-going, there was no proof that the church obtained a permit to add additional structures to existing ones. “We have no proof that there is a permit. Even if the building doesn’t have approval, it ought to be built professionally,” he said.

He said there was no plan to seal Synagogue Church until investigation was concluded, insisting that the structure did not have building approval. He expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy with those that lost their loved ones and those that were injured in the incident, saying government was particularly saddened that innocent lives were lost.

Ayinde clarified that no plans were in the offing to take over the collapsed structure site until a thorough and detailed investigation as to the cause(s) of the collapse had been concluded. He stressed that government did not arbitrarily take over properties when investigation was still on-going. He noted that government was conducting a preliminary investigation into the cause(s) of the collapse and would leave nothing to chance, and that if there was violation of any relevant planning law, residents should be assured that government would take appropriate action.

“To this end, a team of engineers from the Ministry and other state government agencies are taking samples from the foundation and materials from the wreckage of the building for detailed analyses and testing to ascertain the structural integrity of the building. On the veracity of the ‘Strange Plane Theory’, alleged to have dangerously flown low over the building 50 minutes before the collapse, the Ministry had submitted the video clips, as provided by the church to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), with the coordinate of the collapsed site for investigation and professional comment,” he said.