Afriland Towers Tragedy is Yet Another Reminder of Nigeria’s Law Enforcement Problem

Two days ago, as workers in Afriland Towers, a set of boxy high-rise towers, along Lagos Island’s Broad Street, carried out their daily operations, a fire broke out in the building’s inverter room, ultimately engulfing the building and trapping the workers inside. In a much-circulated clip of the incident—which has been viewed some 3.1 million times on X—we see a group of good Samaritans urge trapped workers to jump down, their arms stretched out, ready to break their falls. One worker summons courage, steadying himself behind a shattered window. He dithers and slings his tie backwards as he calibrates himself to make the jump. “E ma be ru,” (Don’t be afraid) someone within the crowd yells. Other workers eventually arrive from within the building with two large inflated air sacs, which the worker tosses to the ground. He tremulously clambers to the ledge, carefully observes the distance, and finally releases himself. The crowd erupts in cheers when he lands safely. 

The jubilation captured in that video, however, belies the full scope of the tragedy. The full extent of the human cost is still unclear. However, according to Ogabi Olajide, the Deputy Controller of the Lagos State Fire Response Service, “four yet-to-be-identified persons are currently battling for their lives as a result of injuries sustained from the incident.” United Capital PLC. has also announced the passing of six staffers. 

Shortly after the news of the incident began to make the rounds, UBA Group, which had a branch in the building, issued a now-deleted statement confirming the safety of its staff and customers. “We are aware of the fire incident at a building on Broad Street, Lagos Island, which incidentally houses one of our many branches. As against reports online and social media, the affected building is not the UBA House, Marina, the Bank’s head office. We have ensured the safety and well-being of our staff and customers in the branch.” The statement generated public outrage for its perceived insensitivity. 

Around 4 pm yesterday, Tony Elumelu—the chairman of UBA Group PLC, who also chairs Heirs Holding Group, the parent company of Afriland Properties—issued a series of tweets disowning the original press release from UBA Group. “The past few hours have been tough. We and others lost colleagues in the fire at Afriland Towers. As a community, we are grieving for all and doing what we can to support their families and loved ones,” he wrote.

In a statement by Afriland Properties PLC, Chukwunonso Okafor, the company’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, confirmed that the blaze started in the building’s inverter room “before smoke quickly filled multiple floors, including emergency exits, even as evacuation procedures were being observed.” 

The statement closes with a perfunctory paragraph acknowledging the “swift intervention” of the Lagos State Fire Response Service, which was instrumental in mitigating further damage and managing the situation. We commend the bravery of the firefighters who eventually arrived at the scene and extinguished the flames. It is, however, important to note that there was nothing swift about their intervention. According to a statement by the LSFRS: “The call was received at 13:38 hours, and Fire crews from Ebute Elefun Fire Station and Sari Iganmu Fire Station responded.” It, however, took hours before they arrived at the scene. 

The ignominy of the first responders being private citizens appears to be lost on many. This is no indictment; years and decades of a dysfunctional, lethargic, and ineffectual fire response service have rendered many desensitized to situations like this. In a functional society, however, emergency agencies, which have been equipped to handle emergencies, are more often than not the first responders. Having to stress the importance and urgency of a reliable fire response service is admittedly tiring given that previous polemics have largely gone unheeded, it however needs to be reiterated. 

What’s more puzzling about the incident at Afriland Towers is that, judging by the available evidence, there seemed to be no fire protocol in place. Companies and corporate buildings, especially ones of Afriland Towers’ magnitude, are required by law to have  clear and actionable protocol in the event of a fire. Safety systems such as fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers, fire extinguishers, and clearly marked exits are mandatory. Companies are also required to have documented fire safety or emergency evacuation plans. Fire drills are also expected to be conducted periodically to familiarize staff with the protocol. Okafor, Afriland’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, claims the fire exits were blocked by the fire. What’s clear from the rowdy evacuation of the trapped workers—they had to resort to smashing windows and jumping down the building—is that there was scarcely any fire protocol in place, and if there was, it was sorely inadequate. 

The situation at Afriland Towers is not an isolated incident; the reality is that workplace safety in Nigeria is mostly an afterthought. This is, however, not due to a lack of legislation. Nigeria has a litany of laws on workplace safety: Fire Service Act; Factories Act; National Fire Safety Code 2013; State building control laws, and Fire Service Regulations 2019. These laws and regulations, among other things, require that safety exits be kept free from obstruction, employees be familiar with escape routes and protocols in case of a fire and that rooms must be designed in a way that allows free escape in case of a fire. 

The problem, as is often the case in Nigeria, however, lies with enforcement. Afriland Towers, as the press release shows, has been quick to downplay its share of the blame through carefully crafted corporate-speak. Note how many times they mention the LSFRS and how they cursorily mention the fire exits being blocked without any mention of observing any evacuation protocol. In a Culture Custodian article published earlier this year in the wake of a tragic road accident that claimed the lives of 22 athletes and officials, Shalom Tewobola pulls apart a much plumbed question: what is the worth of a Nigerian life? We once again find ourselves grappling with this question. It now falls on the government and relevant agencies to launch an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire and possible lapses in the building’s work safety protocol.