By Chioma Obinna

LAGOS—The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, yesterday, said it had concluded the collection of DNA samples for identification of 115 victims of the collapsed building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, in Ikotun area of Lagos.

A survivor of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations building collapse being wheeled out

LASUTH disclosed that at least 100 samples of relatives of victims have been collected for free DNA testing at its department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine.

Account of stewardship

Giving an account of its stewardship, the newly inaugurated Management Board of the hospital, led by the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Adewale Oke, said they have concluded the collection of DNA samples, explaining that testing would be done as it was done in August 2012 and August 2013 for Dana Air and Associated Airlines plane crashes, respectively.

Oke who explained that 80 per cent of those who died in the Synagogue tragedy were South Africans said the Lagos State Government has made arrangement for the samples of their families to be collected in their country.

He added that already the State Government had arranged a DNA laboratory facility in South Africa where all the samples will be collected, adding that they had concluded the Nigerian leg of the investigation and were awaiting the results of the DNA samples sent to South Africa for analyses.

Oke said the state was not able to carry out the collection of samples here in Nigeria following the huge cost involved in bringing into the country two members of each family of the victims.

Free DNA testing

“There is a limit to what I can tell you. The DNA is being done free not in Nigeria. Dana crash DNA testing was not done here but in the UK because we are just beginning to build capacity for it and it is going to take some time.

‘’But because 80 per cent of the victims were South Africans, for us to take specimen, we have to bring at least two relatives from South Africa to Nigeria. So the State decided to select a Laboratory in South Africa that is equally competent to do the DNA so that 80 per cent of the relations who are South Africans can have their specimen taken.

“You have to fly them to Nigeria and fly them back to South Africa, you house them and then you do the test. Their Nigerian counterpart specimens have been taken and the same specimens have been taken to South Africa.

Post-mortem

The post-mortem has been conducted and the dental recognition process has been done, x-rays have been done where necessary and we are just waiting for the result to be out,” he explained.

On his part, the Board Chairman of LASUTH, Dr. Francis Williams said LASUTH has recorded phenomenal success in the area of equipment acquisitions.