Metro
Two bodies recovered from Lagos fire scene
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Two male adults have been recovered dead from the rubble of the Great Nigeria Insurance House Plaza, which was gutted by fire in the Balogun Market area of Lagos Island, Lagos State.
It was reported on Wednesday that the fire started on the fourth floor and spread to the sixth floor of the 25-storey building before engulfing the remaining floors and adjoining structures.
A detached section of the plaza, however, collapsed during the inferno, trapping some traders.
An official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the two corpses were recovered during ongoing search operations for the trapped victims.
“We recovered two bodies today. The first body was recovered at about 11:03am, while the second was found at about 12:03pm,” the official said.
A video obtained showed how the corpses were recovered and later placed in body bags.
Although the identities of the deceased victims had yet to be officially confirmed, a trader, Zacchaeus Afolayan, said one of them was a market assistant who was caught up in the incident.
“One of them was identified as one of the boys assisting traders in the market. He was helping traders to move out their goods when the building collapsed on him,” he said.
Fears, however, persisted that more traders might still be trapped beneath the collapsed section of the plaza.
Among those feared trapped is a China-based clothier, identified simply as Obum, and some other traders.
Afolayan had earlier told our correspondent on Thursday that Obum was evacuating his goods when the structure collapsed on him.
“Obum’s store is behind the plaza. He had already evacuated almost all his goods when the fire was spreading and went back to carry the last ones. That was when the detached part of the plaza, which had been weakened by the fire, collapsed on his store,” he said.
He added that Obum contacted him from beneath the rubble in the early hours of Thursday, confirming that he was still alive.
“He called me around 2am from under the rubble, and that was when we knew he was still alive. He said he was not the only one trapped there. He was begging us not to allow him die, saying no one would take care of his children. He is based in China and only comes home during festive periods to do business,” Afolayan said.
Afolayan, who also owns a shop in the market, said Obum, an indigene of Umuoji in Anambra State, called again on Thursday afternoon, sounding weaker.
Another trader, who identified himself simply as Charles, said two other traders were believed to be trapped beneath the collapsed structure.
“As I speak with you, two people have called from under the rubble. The relatives of one of them just arrived from Onitsha after he called to say he was trapped. Another man also said his brother called him, including one Obum,” he added.
Fire incidents have become a recurring decimal in Lagos Island markets, with goods worth millions of naira destroyed annually as a result.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani, has ordered a statewide clampdown on vehicles plying Lagos roads without number plates or with concealed registration marks, warning that offenders would be arrested and their vehicles impounded with immediate effect.
The directive, according to Fatai, formed part of measures to strengthen security architecture and prevent criminal elements from infiltrating the state through unregistered vehicles.
The CP gave the order during a strategic meeting with Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, DPOs, and Commanders of Tactical Units at the Officers’ Mess, Ikeja, yesterday.
He briefed the officers on resolutions from a recent conference with the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, and outlined new security measures to tighten security across Lagos.
According to Tijani, “The Inspector-General of Police emphasised the need to ensure that all vehicles plying the roads in the country have their plate numbers on them. On no occasion should anybody put a vehicle on the road without a plate number or with a covered plate number. If anybody is found driving such a vehicle, that vehicle will have to be impounded.
He observed that “Most of the vehicles being used by these criminals are either not registered at all or have their plate numbers covered. Apart from those genuinely permitted by law to cover their plate numbers, there are no other exceptions”.
CP Tijani also directed all DPOs to intensify community policing and intelligence gathering at the grassroots, stressing that effective security requires active collaboration between the police and residents.
He further disclosed that the command would sustain joint patrols and intelligence-sharing with other security agencies, particularly in border communities and along waterways, to forestall the movement of criminal elements into Lagos.
Assuring residents of the command’s readiness to tackle emerging threats, Tijani said , “ Lagos Police Command had maintained a strong intelligence network and would continue working closely with transport unions, community leaders and other stakeholders to keep the state safe. Our goal is to ensure that Lagos remains secure and that criminal elements find no space to operate.
Suspected gunmen have abducted a cleric with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), identified as Pastor Gbenga Sanny, in Ondo State.
It was gathered that Sanny was seized by three gunmen on Sunday evening in the presence of his children.
Sources who confirmed the abduction to The Nation on Monday said the incident occurred at about 7.00 p.m in front of his residence located at Ilu-Abo community in Akure North Local Government.
Sanny, who is also a staff of the Akure North Local Government Area of the state, was taken to an unknown destination by the attackers.
His wife reportedly escaped the attack.
“The three armed men reportedly came out of the nearby bush and whisked him away,” one of the sources revealed.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the police command, Jimoh Abayomi said investigation has been launched into the abduction case.
He stated that officers and tactical teams of the command have already been mobilised to the area and working to secure the safe rescue of the victim and apprehend those responsible for the crime.
A man was carried away by floodwaters at Christian Village in the Greater Accra Region on June 7, 2026, during a heavy downpour.
The victim, a father of four, reportedly slipped into a gutter while helping colleagues desilt it, and despite rescue efforts, the strong current swept him away.
Recounting the incident in a video shared by Ask Media on social media on June 8, 2026, eyewitnesses said the incident occurred while the victim and three others were clearing a heavily clogged drainage system to improve water flow during the rains.
The area is known to flood whenever there is heavy rainfall, prompting residents to regularly engage in desilting exercises.
One eyewitness said the victim lost his footing during the exercise and fell.
“He slipped and fell into the river while we were removing debris. I tried to hold him by his collar, but I couldn’t keep hold of him. The current was too strong,” the eye witness recounted.
Despite immediate attempts to rescue him, he was swept away by the raging floodwaters and has since gone missing.
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