The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has confirmed that four of its staff died in Tuesday’s fire at Afriland Towers on Broad Street, Lagos.
The victims, identified as Mrs Ekelikhostse George (Assistant Director), Mr David Sunday-Jatto (Assistant Director), Mrs Nkem Onyemelukwe (Senior Manager) and Mr Peter Ifaranmaye (Manager), were working on the sixth and seventh floors of the building when the incident occurred.
Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, described the tragedy as a heavy loss to the Service. The affected floors house the Medium Tax Audit Office and the Onikan Emerging Tax Office.
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According to the agency, its security officials alerted the fire service immediately, but thick smoke had already spread through the building before help arrived.
FIRS said management and staff remain in shock and are providing support to the families of the deceased. It added that investigations are ongoing in collaboration with Lagos authorities to determine the cause of the fire.
The Service also stated it would review safety protocols across all FIRS offices nationwide to prevent similar incidents.
