The Digest:
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has confirmed the death of four senior staff, two assistant directors, and two managers, in the fire that engulfed Afriland Towers on Lagos’s Broad Street. The victims were trapped in the FIRS offices on the sixth and seventh floors of the building, which housed tax audit and emerging tax operations.
Key Points
- The deceased were identified as Mrs. Ekelikhostse George, Mr. David Sunday-Jatto (assistant directors), Mrs. Nkem Onyemelukwe (senior manager), and Mr. Peter Ifaranmaye (manager).
- FIRS offices occupied the sixth and seventh floors of the six-story building.
- Thick smoke hampered rescue efforts; Lagos Fire Service rescued nine people, but four could not be revived.
- FIRS management expressed shock and pledged support to the families of the deceased.
- The service vowed to review safety measures across all its offices nationwide.
- The fire adds to a pattern of recent blazes in Lagos’s high-density business districts.
- Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing with state and federal agencies.
Beyond the loss of lives, this tragedy exposes critical gaps in urban safety protocols and the human cost of inadequate emergency preparedness in Nigeria’s economic nerve centers.
Sources: FIRS Official Statement, PM News
