Four Federal Inland Revenue Service workers have been identified among the victims of the Afriland Towers fire in Lagos.
Officials are still investigating the cause as colleagues mourn their loss.
A devastating fire swept through Afriland Towers, a high-rise office complex on Broad Street, Lagos, on Tuesday, claiming the lives of four officials from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The multi-storey complex houses several prominent financial institutions, including FIRS, United Capital Plc (UCAP) and a branch of United Bank for Africa (UBA). Witnesses reported that the blaze began in the inverter room before rapidly spreading to other sections of the building. Videos shared online captured panicked workers trying to escape through windows to avoid the spreading flames.
On Wednesday, FIRS confirmed that four of its staff members died in the inferno. According to a statement issued by Dare Adekanmbi, media aide to FIRS Chairman Zacch Adedeji, the victims were working on the agency’s sixth and seventh floors when they became trapped by smoke from the fire.
The deceased have been identified as George Faith Ekelikhostse, 58, an Assistant Director with 32 years of service who had planned to retire later in the week; Sunday-Jatto David, 51, an Assistant Director with 15 years of experience; Ifaranmaye Peter, 48, a Manager with nine years of service; and Onyemelukwe Nkem, 54, a Senior Manager with 13 years at the agency.
Reports indicate the four officials succumbed to heavy smoke inhalation during the incident. The FIRS community has been thrown into deep mourning, with colleagues remembering the victims as hardworking professionals who gave years of dedicated service to the nation’s tax administration.
Emergency authorities have yet to disclose the official cause of the fire as investigations continue.
