The Ongoing Crisis in Nigeria’s Emergency Response Systems
The recent fire outbreak at Afriland Towers, a six-storey building on Broad Street in Lagos Island, has once again brought to light the inadequacies and shortcomings of Nigeria’s emergency response and regulatory agencies. The incident, which occurred on Penultimate Tuesday, resulted in significant loss of life, with six employees from United Capital Plc and four staff members from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) losing their lives. Many occupants were reportedly trapped inside the building, leading some to jump from windows to escape the flames.
According to the Lagos State Government, the fire was triggered by a spark from inverter batteries located in the basement of the building. This tragic event underscores the critical need for better emergency preparedness and more effective regulatory oversight. If emergency services—including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Fire Service (FFS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Police, and state fire and emergency services—had acted more efficiently, many of these deaths could have been avoided.
A Pattern of Disasters
Emergency incidents such as fires, building collapses, and natural disasters are not new to Nigeria. In 2024 alone, Lagos State recorded over 1,600 emergency incidents, including more than 340 truck-related crashes and over 260 fire outbreaks, many occurring in multi-storey commercial buildings. The situation has not improved in 2025, with at least 25 major market fire incidents reported in the first five months of the year.
For instance, an early morning fire in October 2024 destroyed about 26 shops at the busy Bariga Market in Lagos. On February 18, 2025, a fire at the Talata Mafara Central Market in Zamfara State killed three people and injured 50 others. Just days later, over 100 shops were destroyed in a fire at the Central Market in Gusau, Zamfara’s capital. Similarly, Sokoto Kara Market, a major grain trading hub, suffered two major fire outbreaks in 2025, destroying at least 560 shops.
Lagos alone saw 19 building collapses in the first half of 2025, with over 350 deaths nationwide in the past decade. In February 2024, a shopping plaza under construction in Onitsha, Anambra State, collapsed, killing at least six people. Another building collapse in Awka, the state capital, highlighted a disturbing trend. In Plateau State, 22 students died in a school collapse, as they were trapped in dense rubble.
Systemic Failures and Lack of Preparedness
These incidents are often attributed to failures in prevention by supervisory agencies and slow, inadequate responses from emergency services. Accusations of delayed action by internal building safety officers and statutory emergency services are common, leading some individuals to take desperate measures like jumping from burning buildings.
The situation is further worsened by a lack of adequate equipment, insufficient enforcement of safety standards during the design, construction, and management of buildings, and outdated emergency vehicles. For example, as of 2024, Lagos reportedly has only one functional crane for major rescue operations, forcing the state to rely on private contractors, which can be unreliable in high-stakes emergencies.
Other challenges include limited access to water, especially hydrants, insufficient aerial ladders for high-rise buildings, understaffing, and long response times—often between 30 to 60 minutes in a city like Lagos, instead of the few minutes needed in life-threatening situations.
Calls for Reform and Better Safety Measures
Most concerning is that many public buildings and markets lack essential safety features such as sprinklers, smoke detectors, or clear emergency exits. A 2023 study in Abuja found that 70% of shopping malls lacked functional emergency response systems.
In light of these findings, there is an urgent need for stricter enforcement of building and fire regulations by regulatory bodies. Mandatory compliance should be enforced, with serious consequences for officials and agencies responsible for negligence or lack of oversight. All regulations must be backed by relevant federal and state laws to ensure effective enforcement of safety standards. These laws should also include improved funding for emergency response and severe penalties for violations by developers and construction professionals.
Improved power supply is another critical area. Fires have often been traced to power supply issues, as seen in the Afriland Towers incident, where the fire originated from inverter batteries. A stable electricity supply would eliminate the need for such installations and reduce the risk of similar incidents.
Essential Safety Measures for Buildings
Every building must be equipped with adequate fire safety systems, including regular maintenance and functioning equipment, clear exit points, and alarm systems with regular emergency drills. Each high-rise building should have internal first responder officials and equipment, ensuring that trained personnel are available in case of emergencies.
Additionally, every room in high-rise buildings should be equipped with compact, easy-to-use safety rope ladders. These can provide individuals with a personal means of escape in emergencies, independent of malfunctioning lifts or overcrowded stairwells.
Strengthening Emergency Response Coordination
The Federal Fire Service (FFS), in collaboration with state counterparts, should conduct nationwide audits of both public and private buildings to ensure compliance with safety standards. Erring facilities should face sanctions, and FFS should also focus on training facility managers and strengthening partnerships with regulatory agencies.
Specifically, the 2026 National Building Code regulations must be diligently implemented to ensure uniform standards for structural integrity, fire safety, electrical installations, and accessibility across all seven regulatory bodies of the built environment.
A Call for Unity and Action
Ultimately, there must be synergy among emergency response agencies to minimize duplication of duties, wasted resources, and inefficiency. Clear mandates should guide the development and execution of integrated national strategies.
Public places such as offices, markets, and other areas should not become death traps. All professional and regulatory bodies must address their failures in providing adequate safety services. Human errors should not continue to destroy the nation’s human and material resources. There should be no compromise of safety standards.
