In the heart of Lagos Island’s bustling Broad Street, the Afriland Tower, a seven-storey glass building that accommodates offices of the United Bank for Africa, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and United Capital Plc, among others, turned into a death trap on Tuesday afternoon.
According to The Punch, 20th of September, 2025, the fire which reportedly started in the basement inverter room around 1 p.m., escalated into a disaster that claimed 10 lives and left many injured.
Among the survivors were Adewale and Kachi, who struggled for breath as they tried to escape the chaos. Adewale, a quiet office worker on the fifth floor, recounted that what began as an ordinary workday suddenly turned nightmarish.
On the second floor, Kachi went through a similarly terrifying experience. He explained that he had first noticed the smoke while he was heading downstairs, but at that point, it was not yet overwhelming.
However, as he hurried back upstairs to alert his colleagues about what was happening, he returned to discover that the entire area had already become completely engulfed in smoke.
He said, “Before I returned, the whole place had been covered with thick smoke.”
He recounted that while he was struggling to breathe, he shouted for help as other people clambered toward the broken windows in desperation.
“I almost passed out because I couldn’t breathe. We could not go through the main entrance, because it was almost impossible to see the road.
“People started struggling to pass through the window.
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