Five Hospitalised As Lagos WAEC Office Building Guts Fire

Five cleaners of the West African Examination Council building at Yaba, Lagos State have been hospitalised following the fire incident that occurred on Wednesday morning.

AN24 reported that a section of the building was on fire in the early hours of Wednesday.

The cause of the fire is unknown but sources hinted that the fire was triggered by electrical wires that sparked.

Staff members of WAEC resisted all attempts by our correspondent to get a clearer picture of the incident.

Security guards at the damaged building did not allow AN24 correspondent access to the building, saying, “We are following orders.”

However, a staff member who spoke anonymously said five cleaners were immediately rushed to the hospital.

He said they collapsed due to the heavy smoke that covered the building.

One of the security guards confirmed that no life was lost during the fire attack.

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While making a phone call, our reporter heard him say in Yoruba language, “They had to call all of us back this morning, this is shocking. It is not much but some documents were damaged but nobody died in the fire attack.”

A vendor, Segun, who sells his wares opposite the complex said the fire incident happened around 5 am. He said he saw a group of people rushing down to the facility, screaming that fire had engulfed the WAEC Office.

“By the time I got there, I discovered that some uniformed men were trying to rescue some staff members and documents. They transferred the documents to one of their smaller offices close by. The fire was much but I’m not sure it damaged a lot of things,” he said.

The guards did not allow students and others who came to make enquiries gain access into the building.

A lady who gave her name as Bianca said, “I came here for an official purpose and they told me that WAEC Office was burnt, that I should come tomorrow for it.”

Bianca who came from Iyana-Oba part of Lagos continued that, “I need the document urgently but I don’t know what I can do now. I wish they’ll just give me.”