Fire guts CBN’s Lagos office, destroys assets worth millions of naira

Strange fire yesterday razed the Central Bank of Nigeria Head Office Annex located at Customs Street, Lagos.
The incident which coincided with the first Monetary Policy Committee meeting chaired by acting Central Bank Governor, Dr Sarah Alade, created pandemonium around the Lagos Central Business District as fire fighters battled to put off the inferno.
Though the cause of the fire which started at about 5.30pm could not be ascertained as at press time, indications were that damages on the ground and first floors of the building were phenomenal.
The fire, it was learnt, started at the old building as workers were preparing to move documents and other sensitive items from the block into their newly constructed head office annex. The incident threw the whole area into confusion causing heavy human and vehicular traffic.
Policemen from Lion Building, Lagos who were angry with journalists covering the incident pounced on some photographers and in the process damaged and seized cameras belonging to them, including that of a photo-journalist of National Mirror Newspaper.

Award winning photojournalist, Mr. Yinka Adeparusi, was also arrested and his camera smashed.
Speaking on the effort of his men, Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, said the fire service got an emergency call that the CBN building was on fire around 5:45 pm. He said two fire trucks were mobilised from the Onikan and Sari-Iganmu Fire Stations each carrying 10,000 litres of water to quell the fire.
Fadipe added that aerial ladder was being used to fight the fire as the complex is a high rise building, adding that the fire started on the third floor of the building. He further said that the place had been condoned off to allow fire fighters to do their job.
The fire fighter said officers from the Federal Fire Service, Union Bank and UBA also assisted in quelling the fire as they brought in their equipment. He stated that the fire service was prompt in mobilising equipment to the scene to battle the fire from all fronts.
Also speaking, spokesperson, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the fire had been brought under control and that it would soon be put out. As at the time of filing this report, the fire was still raging as fire fighters battled hard to put it out.
Meanwhile, a press statement signed by Isaac Okoroafor on behalf of the Director of Corporate Communications admitted that the fire gutted the first floor of the building but added that it was successfully put out by a combined team of fire fighters from CBN and other organisations.
The apex bank spokesman assured the general public that vital records of the bank remained intact as the bank has effective backup system in case of any damages or loss of basic data.