The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has confirmed the death of four of its staff members in Tuesday’s fire incident at Afriland Towers on Broad Street, Lagos.
The deceased were working on the sixth and seventh floors of the building, which houses two FIRS offices, when the tragedy occurred.
A statement issued by Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, identified the victims as Mrs Ekelikhostse George (Assistant Director), Mr David Sunday-Jatto (Assistant Director), Mrs Nkem Onyemelukwe (Senior Manager) and Mr Peter Ifaranmaye (Manager).
“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,” the statement read.
The agency said its Medium Tax Audit and Onikan Emerging Tax Office are based on the affected floors.
It added that its Security and Safety officials quickly contacted the fire service when alerted, but thick smoke had already engulfed the building.
FIRS said its management and staff are in deep shock and have reached out to the families of the deceased, promising to provide all necessary support.
“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 said.
