No fewer than four staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have been confirmed dead and property worth millions of Naira destroyed after fire gutted Afriland Towers in Lagos Island Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The four deceased staff were Ekelikhostse George (Assistant Director), David Sunday-Jatto (assistant director), Nkem Onyemelukwe (senior manager) and Peter Ifaranmaye (manager).
On Wednesday, they were said to be working at one of the two FIRS branches on the sixth and seventh floor of the Afriland Towers that was gutted by fire Broad Street, Lagos, on yesterday.
The staff demise was confirmed through a statement released by Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman,
According to the statement, “It is with a heavy heart that FIRS announces the tragic loss of four of its staff members during the fire incident at Afriland Towers, Broad Street, Lagos, on Tuesday.
“FIRS is one of the tenants occupying the Towers with our Medium Tax Audit and Onikan Emerging Tax Office housed on the sixth and seventh floors.
“Our Security and Safety officials quickly mobilised and contacted the fire service as soon as they were alerted. On getting to the scene, thick dark smoke was already billowing out of the building.
“The Management and entire staff are in deep shock and sorrow over the development. They offer their condolences to the grieving families and are in touch with the families of our departed colleagues whose commitment to excellence, dedication and professionalism were never in doubt. We will provide all the necessary support at this trying time.
“We are working in collaboration with all relevant agencies in Lagos to get to the root cause of the unfortunate incident. While this is going on, we will be reviewing safety measures across FIRS offices in both rented and owned buildings nationwide,” the statement said.
