Sanwo-Olu confirms eight dead in fire-ravaged GNI building

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Government has confirmed that eight people lost their lives in the devastating fire that engulfed the 22-storey Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Building in Lagos, a day before Christmas.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who spoke on Friday after inspecting the scene, said eight corpses had been recovered from the charred structure, while 13 persons were rescued alive.

According to him, only five of the deceased had so far been identified by their families.

The governor commiserated with relatives of the victims and led officials and onlookers in a minute of silence in honour of those who died in the inferno.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the area within a 100-metre radius of the building had been declared unsafe and would remain closed to all commercial and business activities.

He added that there were indications that additional bodies might still be trapped beneath the structure.

Sanwo-Olu explained that the eventual demolition of the building would only be carried out after temperatures at the site had dropped to safe levels, noting that smoke was still billowing from the building as of Friday.

The governor attributed the scale of the tragedy largely to recklessness and poor safety conduct by traders operating around the building.

“A fire started and people were more concerned about salvaging their goods than protecting their lives,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“Despite warnings to evacuate, many chose to stay back to rescue items. Vehicular movement also obstructed first responders from gaining access to critical points, and that complicated rescue efforts,” he added.

He stressed that the shutdown of the surrounding area would remain in force to prevent further loss of life, adding that investigations into the precise cause of the fire were still ongoing.

“Lives have been lost, properties destroyed and livelihoods wiped out,” the governor said, adding that “While investigations continue, it is clear that prolonged recklessness and carelessness around the back of the building contributed significantly to what happened.”

Sanwo-Olu acknowledged that the government faced difficult decisions ahead, particularly concerning the demolition of affected structures, but insisted that safety would take precedence.

“It will be a tough decision, but it will be the right one to preserve lives and property. When tragedies like this happen, the responsibility rests on us, and we will not shy away from it,” he said.

From a visual assessment alone, the governor noted, the building and its surroundings were clearly distressed.

He added that further technical assessments would still be carried out to formally certify the extent of damage and determine the next line of action.