Afriland Tower Tragedy: Survivors Tell Horrific Tales of Lagos High-Rise Inferno
10 Dead, Several Injured as Faulty Inverter Turns Financial Hub into Death Trap
By CoolNews Reporter
Lagos Island, Nigeria
In the heart of Lagos Island’s bustling Broad Street, the gleaming seven-storey Afriland Tower has long stood as a symbol of Nigeria’s financial prowess. Housing prestigious offices of the United Bank for Africa, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and United Capital Plc, the modern glass structure represented corporate success and economic growth.
But on Tuesday afternoon, this beacon of business transformed into a suffocating death trap that would claim 10 lives and leave families shattered across Lagos.
The Day Everything Went Wrong
The tragedy began around 1 PM when what appeared to be a routine power outage quickly escalated into a nightmare. A fire that started innocuously in the basement inverter room spiraled into a catastrophe, filling multiple floors with thick, black smoke and trapping workers who had come to the office expecting nothing more than an ordinary Tuesday.
Adewale, a soft-spoken office worker on the fifth floor, recalls the precise moment when normalcy dissolved into chaos.
“We just noticed the light tripped off, and it was taking unusually long to come back on,” he told CoolNews. According to Adewale, power outages in the tower were typically brief, resolved quickly by the building’s backup inverters. “But this time, over 20 minutes passed without power being restored.”
As minutes ticked by, anxiety rippled through the offices. Then came the smoke.
“Everybody became apprehensive, and suddenly we started seeing thick smoke. That was when everybody started running,” Adewale recounted, his voice still carrying traces of the terror he experienced.
In desperation, he improvised a survival tool, soaking his tie in water and pressing it to his face like a makeshift mask. But as the toxic fumes filled the corridors, visibility dropped to zero.
“The smoke was so thick that we could not see anything,” he said. “I think it was just the grace of God that I was able to come out. Inside the thick smoke, I just followed one person and was able to make it to the ground floor.”
Trapped in a Modern Death Trap
On the second floor, another survivor, identified as Kachi, experienced similar terror. He first spotted the smoke while heading downstairs, but it wasn’t immediately overwhelming. Racing back upstairs to alert colleagues, he returned to find the area completely engulfed.
“I almost passed out because I couldn’t breathe,” Kachi told our reporter. “We couldn’t go through the main entrance because it was almost impossible to see the road. People started struggling to pass through the window. I became very tired. How I came out was only God.”
The harrowing accounts reveal a building woefully unprepared for emergency situations. According to survivors and witnesses, critical safety systems failed when they were needed most.
System Failures and Blocked Exits
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the blaze originated from the inverter room in the basement before spreading throughout the building. Deputy Controller General Ogabi Olajide explained that the fire quickly filled multiple floors with smoke, causing panic among staff and customers who struggled to find escape routes.
But it was the systematic failures that turned a manageable incident into a deadly trap.
Omolara Ogunsola, a trader and regular visitor to the tower, provided damning testimony about the building’s compromised safety systems.
“During the renovation, the step at the side of the building was blocked,” she revealed to CoolNews. “The last time there was a fire incident here, they rang the alarm and everyone escaped through the step. When they blocked it, I wondered how people would get out in the next emergency. Now we have seen the result.”
Even more troubling, Ogunsola disclosed that this wasn’t the first fire incident at Afriland Tower. “The last time there was a fire incident in this building, the alarm went off immediately, and everyone came out safely through the staircase. Why would the safe passage in a high-rise building be blocked?”
The emergency alarm system, designed to save lives, was also non-functional during the crisis.
Warning Signs Ignored
Perhaps most tragic of all, the disaster could have been prevented. Fasasi Adeniyi, one of the first responders to arrive at the scene, revealed that the faulty inverter had been showing repeated signs of malfunction.
“This last Sunday, the inverter exploded, and the same thing happened last month,” Adeniyi told CoolNews. “They knew it was faulty, but they kept repairing it instead of changing it completely. If they had replaced the entire system, this would never have happened.”
The revelation paints a picture of dangerous negligence, where cost-cutting measures and deferred maintenance created a ticking time bomb in one of Lagos’s most prominent commercial buildings.
Heroic Rescue Efforts by Lagos Residents
While official emergency systems failed, ordinary Lagosians rose to the occasion with extraordinary bravery. Witnesses described how traders, residents, and passersby immediately mobilized to help trapped workers.
“If not that the people inside made sure they destroyed those glasses, the death toll would have been more than what we have,” Adeniyi explained. “Some survivors came down using ropes because all other options were gone.”
Eze Obinna, a trader who left his stall to join rescue efforts, recounted the desperate scenes he witnessed. “One man I know jumped from the sixth floor despite his stature. He went into the car park and that was the end. People tried to carry him away, but it was too late.”
Despite the tragedy, Obinna praised the community response: “Traders and residents did all they could. They used ropes, ladders, and even bare hands to support the people jumping down. Without them, the death toll would have doubled.”
The Human Cost: Lives Cut Short
The fire claimed 10 precious lives, leaving families devastated and communities in mourning. Among the victims were dedicated public servants and young professionals whose futures were snuffed out in moments.
FIRS Loses Four Dedicated Staff
The Federal Inland Revenue Service lost four valued personnel: George Faith Ekelikhostse (58), David Sunday-Jatto, Nkem Onyemelukwe (55), and Peter Ifaranmaye (48).
Ekelikhostse, who had risen to Assistant Director after 32 years of faithful service, represented the dedication of Nigeria’s civil servants. Sunday-Jatto, another Assistant Director with 15 years of service, was remembered by Facebook user Halima Mohammed as “a man full of life and very humble” who was devoted to his family, particularly his daughter Nicole.
“Mr Jatto did not have any problems,” Mohammed told CoolNews. “Whenever he was around, we felt his presence. He was a man full of life and very humble. Death really took a rare gem.”
Mrs. Onyemelukwe, a Senior Manager who had served for 13 years, was mourned by her niece, Instagram user Odozie Aku, who wrote: “Thirteen years of dedicated work taken away by people’s negligence in just a twinkle of an eye. That inverter was due for maintenance, but they kept pushing it until it became disastrous.”
United Capital Plc Mourns Six Colleagues
United Capital Plc lost six staff members, each representing dreams unfulfilled and lives cut tragically short.
The victims included Jesutoni Shodipo (21), Opeyemi Oloyede (28), and Kehinde Adeoye (36) from the compliance department; Olumide Oyefodunrin (26) and Ndidi Osaemedike-Okeke (41) from the Trustees department; and Rebecca Adenuga (28) from Wealth Management.
Perhaps most heart-wrenching was the story of Oyefodunrin, whose 27th birthday was scheduled for Wednesday. Legal practitioner Janet Ologunde, Principal Partner at Ireoluwa Chambers, had watched him grow up in Ebute-Metta.
“Your birthday was supposed to be Wednesday. You already planned how you would celebrate it in the office. Death struck on Tuesday. Life so young, destiny unfulfilled, parents’ dream cut off,” she lamented in a Facebook post that captured the profound grief of the community.
Oyefodunrin was buried on Friday, just three days after the tragedy that stole his life and his future.
A Pregnant Woman’s Final Call
Among the most devastating accounts was that of a pregnant woman who made a final, desperate phone call to her family from inside the burning building. First responder Fasasi Adeniyi recounted the heartbreaking scene:
“One of the deceased family member’s came around that day. Their daughter called them from inside the building to say she could not make it out because there was no emergency exit. That lady was pregnant. How can you build a building without an emergency exit and alarm?”
The woman’s husband was described as “weeping uncontrollably” while her mother sat in shock. That final phone call would be the last time her family heard her voice.
Another victim, Kehinde Adeoye, was described by colleagues as a sweet soul who had just returned from maternity leave. Facebook user Apotieri Oluwa wrote: “The mother who had just returned from maternity leave was my personal person. She used to work at my former place of work before she moved there. I used to ride with her.”
Community trader Akanmu Oladapo remembered another victim as “a kind, generous woman, who had only recently married and given birth. She got married last year and gave birth around June last year. She drove a red car. Now she is gone, leaving behind her child and young husband.”
Medical Response and Treatment
Victims and survivors were rushed to multiple medical facilities across Lagos Island. Besides Avon Medical Hospital, injured parties were treated at Lagos Island General Hospital and St. Nicholas Hospital on Campbell Street.
An official at the general hospital confirmed the intake: “Most of them have been discharged, while others are still under medical care. The situation was chaotic, but many lives were saved because of the swift response of the people.”
Official Response and Investigation
The tragedy prompted immediate response from Nigeria’s highest levels of government.
President Bola Tinubu, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu all issued statements of condolence. In a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu described the incident as “a painful tragedy” and called for “greater caution, training, and alertness to forestall such emergencies in the future.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu ordered a comprehensive probe into the incident while commending emergency responders for their efforts. In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, the governor described the incident as “unfortunate and shocking.”
Questions That Demand Answers
As Lagos mourns its dead and tends to its wounded, critical questions emerge that demand urgent answers:
- How was a building housing major financial institutions allowed to operate with blocked emergency exits?
- Why were warning signs about the faulty inverter system ignored despite multiple previous incidents?
- What accountability measures exist for building owners who compromise tenant safety?
- How can Lagos prevent similar tragedies in its numerous high-rise buildings?
The Afriland Tower tragedy serves as a stark reminder that Nigeria’s rapid urban development must not come at the cost of basic safety standards. As families bury their loved ones and survivors struggle with trauma, the city must confront the uncomfortable truth that this preventable disaster reveals systemic failures that could strike anywhere.
In the words of survivor Kachi, “How I came out was only God.” But divine intervention should not be the primary safety system in modern commercial buildings. Lagos – and Nigeria – must do better.
This report was compiled with additional reporting by CoolNews correspondents across Lagos.
Contact the Editor: coolnewsc@gmail.com
Breaking News Hotline: +234-8030797998
Facebook Comments