Emergency responders carry the corpse of a victim of GNI fire. Credit: Lagos State Government | X
The death toll from the devastating fire at the 25-storey Great Nigeria Insurance House on Lagos Island has risen to six, the Lagos State Government confirmed.
The update follows the recovery of one additional body from the rubble on Day 8 of ongoing rescue operations.
In a statement released via X late Wednesday, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the extrication brought the confirmed fatalities to six.
He also reported that 13 people were injured, including eight males—one of them a firefighter—who were hospitalised, while five others received first aid at the scene and were released.
Omotoso said, “One more body has been recovered from the scene of the GNI building fire. The situation as of this evening, December 31, 2025, is: eight injured males, including a fireman, taken to hospital; three males and two females suffered minor injuries, administered first aid, and were released at the scene.
“One adult female was extricated dead from the collapsed structure and handed over to her husband. Two adult males were extricated. Three persons were burnt beyond recognition.”
The fire, which erupted on December 24, originated on the building’s fourth floor and quickly spread, destroying goods worth millions of naira and displacing traders.
Earlier reports by PUNCH Metro indicated that at least 20 people were still trapped under the rubble.
Relatives who spoke to our correspondent on Sunday provided names and photographs of their affected loved ones.
The identified victims include Elo Chukwu, Omeigbo Chuwuebuka, Omeigbo Chukwudubem, Kayode Omoniyi, Ikechukwudi Asobi, and Murphy Aborinwa.
Others are Onyeka Obinwa, Mercy Ukamaka, and Taofeeq Opera, as well as a trader identified as Chiding and two of his boys.
Several other market assistants reportedly remain trapped, and their identities could not be confirmed.
