Fire Gut Old National Assembly Complex

An evening fire on Thursday at the Old National Assembly, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos has destroyed four floors of the eight-storey building, according to reports from the Punch.

According to eyewitnesses, the fires started on the third floor of the building, which houses the Nigerian Hydrological Service, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources and the National Business and Technical Examination Board, NABTEB, and spread to the fourth, fifth and sixth floors before firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading to the remaining floors.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but emergency services said no lives were lost and no injuries were sustained. The Operation to put out the fire was still ongoing as of 7pm.

Mr Michael Akindele, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, said other agencies such as the Lagos State Fire Service, National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Police Force, were at the scene of the incident.

He said, “The agency received an alert via an emergency call at about 3.48pm that there was a fire incident at the old National Assembly building which prompted an immediate activation of emergency response team.

“Investigation at the scene of the incident revealed that the fire started from the third floor and spread to the fourth, fifth and sixth floors. The cause of the inferno could not be ascertained as of the time of investigation.”

The spokesperson for NEMA, South West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said more than seven water trucks were still combating the inferno.

“The fire started around 3pm and all rescue agencies are here. Four major offices were affected – Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Accountant General’s Office, NABTEB and the Nigerian Hydrological Service. Julius Berger Fire Service, LASEMA, NEMA are on the ground.”

The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said that the agency had the challenge of accessing the high-rise building “due to heavy burglar-proof bars.”