Lagos Island descended into chaos Tuesday night as Central Plaza, a busy shopping complex on Broad Street, went up in flames — just hours after a separate blaze tore through nearby Afriland Tower
The fire, which started around 7:40 pm, spread rapidly, causing part of the multi-storey plaza to collapse and injuring several people who were still inside.
Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes as traders scrambled through thick smoke and falling debris to rescue whatever goods they could.
“I don’t even know what I picked; I just grabbed what I could,” a distraught shop owner cried, clutching charred pieces of clothing.
Emergency responders battled the fire late into the night, but efforts were hampered by the partial collapse of the building.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that goods worth millions of naira were destroyed, though the exact number of casualties is still unknown.
In a fire alert shared on its X platform, the agency’s Deputy Controller General, Olajide Ogabi, confirmed the incident.
The back-to-back blazes — hitting two major commercial landmarks on the same street within hours — have left traders and residents deeply shaken. The cause of both fires is still under investigation.
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