Death toll from the deadly fire at Afriland Towers on Broad Street, Lagos Island, has reached 10, after it was confirmed that six staff of United Capital Plc and four top Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) executives lost their lives in the blaze.
The six-story commercial building was on fire on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, after fire is said to have begun in the inverter room on the ground floor at around 1:30 p.m. Thick smoke cascaded through the building rapidly, and panic overcame all. Desperate rescue efforts were observed by others who broke through windows with the assistance of a ladder, as there was a struggle by the firefighters.
United Capital Plc, where its employees were accommodated on the 3rd and 4th floors of the tower, also verified that six employees were discovered deceased in the Thursday announcement. The company termed the loss as “immeasurable” and offered support to the victims’ families and further declared that it would be holding a memorial service in their remembrance.
Earlier, the FIRS had established that four of its officers were also killed in the crash. Emergency workers, who included the Federal Fire Service and Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, evacuated a minimum of nine individuals during the operation. Five were resuscitated and successfully brought to the hospital, while four were unconscious at the time.
Although state emergency officials have yet to issue official death tolls, earlier reports had said “not everyone made it out alive.” Efforts to get updates from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were not successful at press time.
