Fire guts Customs Western Marine office in Apapa
By Uzor Odigbo
Early morning fire gutted the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Western Marine Command office in Ibafon, Apapa, Lagos, destroying multi-million Naira property on Monday.
The fire started at about 10:20 a.m. in the command’s conference room due to an electrical surge before spreading rapidly through the building.
Officers on duty tried frantically to contain the flames before the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service arrived around 10:43 a.m. to put out the blaze.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the inferno was a shocking welcome for the new WMC Boss, as the incident marked a dramatic first day for Deputy Comptroller of Customs Timothy Jonah, who had just arrived at the command to take over leadership from his predecessor, Comptroller Patrick Ntadi.
His words: “I just resumed duty to take over, only to witness this fire outbreak,” Jonah told journalists at the scene. “Every challenge, though negative, is an opportunity to strengthen our operations. In the meantime, we will set up a committee to investigate the cause of the fire.”
Jonah praised the quick thinking and response of the Customs personnel on duty and their teamwork with the state fire service. He promised that the command would upgrade its safety protocols to stop similar accidents from happening again.
