FIRS Mourns Death of Four Staff Killed in Afriland Towers Fire

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

Following the unfortunate fire outbreak recorded at on Tuesday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has been thrown into mourning as it announced that four of its staff members died in the fire incident at Afriland Towers, Broad Street, Lagos.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the agency made the disclosure in a statement signed by Dare Adekanmbi, the Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman.

The statement reads, "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 concludes that the FIRS Chairman, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, also expressed deep grief, saying he was shattered by unfortunate incident.