Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has expressed her sadness over the tragic fire incident that happened on Tuesday at the Afriland Building on Broad Street, Lagos Island. In her message, she reached out with sympathy to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and to the families of all those who lost their loved ones or were affected by the fire.
In a statement released in Abuja on Thursday, Mrs. Tinubu also extended her condolences to the management and workers of some of the organisations whose offices were affected. These include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), United Capital, and the United Bank for Africa (UBA).
The First Lady said:“I send my heartfelt condolences to Governor Sanwo-Olu, the good people of Lagos State, and to all the organisations involved, especially FIRS and UBA, over the heartbreaking fire accident at Afriland Towers that led to the loss of ten lives. May Almighty God bring comfort to the grieving families, their colleagues, and all loved ones of those who died or were injured in this terrible tragedy.”
She also prayed for the souls of the dead to rest peacefully, for those who were injured to recover quickly, and for the families left behind to be given strength and courage to bear this painful loss.
According to reports by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the disaster was one of two separate fire incidents that occurred in the Lagos Island business district on Tuesday. These fires injured many people and destroyed properties worth millions of naira. The Afriland Towers fire is now being described as one of the deadliest fire outbreaks in Lagos Island in recent years.
The blaze, which began inside the building’s inverter room, spread quickly with heavy smoke moving through the floors and even blocking some emergency exits. The fire affected a number of companies based in the building, including FIRS, United Capital, and a UBA branch.
Emergency services, including the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and the Federal Fire Service, worked for several hours to put out the fire and rescue people trapped inside. Unfortunately, at least ten people were confirmed dead, and several others were injured. Videos and photos of the incident quickly spread across social media, with some people at first mistakenly believing that UBA’s corporate headquarters at Marina had been destroyed. The bank later clarified that only its Broad Street branch was involved.
The incident has raised serious questions about fire safety measures in commercial high-rise buildings across Lagos. With two major fire outbreaks happening on the same day in the same business district, many members of the public have become increasingly worried about safety standards.
The First Lady’s message of condolence adds to the many voices, ranging from government agencies to private companies and civil society groups,who are calling for stricter enforcement of fire safety regulations to prevent such tragedies in the future.
