Samson Folarin and Afeez Hanafi
The old National Assembly building at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos Island, was gutted by fire on Thursday, which affected four floors of the eight-storeyed building.

The building houses the Nigerian Hydrological Service, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources and the National Business and Technical Examination Board, NABTEB.
The cause of the fire, which started around 3pm, had yet to be ascertained by emergency agencies.It was learnt that the fire started from the third floor of the building and spread to the fourth, fifth and sixth floors before firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading to the remaining floors.
While the worth of the property lost to the incident was still being assessed, it was confirmed that no life was lost and no injury sustained.
Operation was still ongoing as of 7pm when this report was filed.
The General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Michael Akindele, said other agencies, which comprised the Lagos State Fire Service, National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Police Force, were at the scene of the incident.
He said, “The agency received an alert via an emergency call at about 3.48pm that there was a fire incident at the old National Assembly building which prompted an immediate activation of emergency response team.
“Investigation at the scene of the incident revealed that the fire started from the third floor and spread to the fourth, fifth and sixth floors. The cause of the inferno could not be ascertained as of the time of investigation.”
The spokesperson for NEMA, South West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said more than seven water trucks were still combating the inferno.
He said, “The fire started around 3pm and all rescue agencies are here. Four major offices were affected – Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Accountant General’s Office, NABTEB and the Nigerian Hydrological Service. Julius Berger Fire Service, LASEMA, NEMA are on the ground.”
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said in a text message that the agency had the challenge of accessing the high-rise building “due to heavy burglar-proof bars.”