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Ladies and Gentlemen of the media; fellow South Africans,

We speak to you this afternoon on a matter that has affected our fellow South Africans who had travelled to the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

As the President, His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, confirmed last night, there were South African citizens amongst those affected when a building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed on Friday, 12 September 2014.

As per the instruction from President Zuma, Government has activated its disaster management processes and is treating the matter with the utmost urgency. The Government understands fully the pain and anguish of affected families; and we are walking this difficult and painful path hand in hand with the families.


The South African Consul-General in Lagos has been working around the clock, visiting the scene, liaising with the leadership of the church and other authorities. In addition, the South African High Commission in the capital, Abuja, has seconded staff to Lagos to provide assistance to the Consul-General.

I am also able to confirm that an advance team of disaster management personnel is on the way to Lagos. In Pretoria, an inter-departmental team has been put together to coordinate all Government activities relating to the calamity.

As the advance team of emergency personnel is making way to Lagos, we appeal in the interim for family members and friends to send pictures of their affected loved ones to the Operations Room that has been set up at DIRCO. The email address for this purpose is consular@dirco.gov.za.  The number to call is 012 351 1000.

We reiterate  that our hearts go out to the bereaved families and  reassure them of the South African Government’s support during this difficult time.

I thank you.

Issued by: Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) on behalf of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation