The Western Marine Command office of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Apapa was razed by fire on Monday and destroyed the agency’s property estimated at millions of naira.
Eye witnesses disclosed that the inferno was as a result of an electrical surge in the conference room that began around 10:23 am and spread to the adjoining section of the sprawling building.
However, officers on duty were said to have made frantic efforts to curtail the fire before they received succour from the officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service who arrived at the scene at about 10:45 am.
Speaking on the unfortunate incident, the Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Timothy Jonah, who had resumed yesterday at the command to take over from his predecessor, described the incident as unfortunate.
Jonah said “I just resumed duty to take over, only to witness this fire outbreak. 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.”
The new Command Comptroller commended the swift response of personnel on duty and their collaboration with the fire service, adding that further measures would be taken to strengthen safety protocols and prevent a recurrence.
