Emotions spilled across social media on Christmas Eve as importers and Instagram vendors reported severe losses after a fire engulfed the 22-storey Great Nigeria Insurance House on Lagos Island.
The inferno, which broke out on the night of December 24, spread to nearby buildings, including a mosque, before emergency teams eventually brought it under control.
The director-general of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said preliminary findings showed that the fire started from an apartment on the fourth floor.
Oke-Osanyintolu said the blaze escalated rapidly to the sixth floor and higher levels of the building.
Seven adult males sustained varying degrees of burns and were treated by paramedics before being taken to nearby hospitals.
The structure, which functioned largely as a warehouse for clothing materials and also housed offices, contained goods reportedly valued at millions and, in some cases, billions of naira.
Several affected traders took to social media to describe their losses and the emotional toll of the incident.
An importer identified on Instagram as ‘Monchericloset_empire’ described the building as “majorly a warehouse”.
She said, “To be an importer is not easy. I am not even crying for myself only. I am crying for everybody that has goods in that Great Nigeria House. Imagine billions of naira.”
Another vendor, known as ‘_houseofemmy’, said sickness delayed her from clearing goods that had recently arrived.
She said, “What type of consolation do I want to give myself? I keep blaming myself.”
The trader explained that migraine had left her unable to function properly when she was informed that her January goods had arrived early.
She said, “I was still saying that I would go and pay, not until I saw the fire incident.”
The vendor added, “Everything people worked for in one year. No single holiday, no single break for me since 2024. I worked all year.”
Another trader, Bussie_closeet, said she postponed clearing her goods until December 29, only for the warehouse to be “burnt to ashes”.
She added, “Imagine losing all my new year goods to Wait and Carry.”
A vendor, Tifefashionstores, confirmed that both personal and pre-order items were destroyed in the fire.
She said, “Please be gentle on me at this time, that’s all I ask. Millions of naira have gone in the flames, I could see particles of my goods.”
A TikTok user identified as Bimzee Collections said she lost two shops to the fire.
She said, “God, do you want to take everything from me? People will mock me.”
She added, “I have no one to depend on. I have been struggling since d age of 12 years old.”
Another vendor, Chic.hub, said she initially avoided confirming the loss because of the emotional strain.
She said, “2025 will forever be a year I will never forget!”
It was gathered that about 36 containers were stored within the affected building.
In a notice circulated to customers, Wait and Carry Cargo said it would not issue refunds or compensation to affected traders.
The company said the fire destroyed its office, warehouses and stored goods, adding that it was still assessing the full scale of damage.
The notice stated, “However, we are actively working to put all necessary information together and will continue to keep our customers updated.”
The company said the incident qualified as force majeure, describing it as an unforeseen event beyond its control.
It added, “As a result, no payments or refunds can be made to affected customers, as the company has also suffered a total and severe loss.”
A similar notice from Express Cargo was also circulated online.
Reacting to the incident, the governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, expressed sympathy with victims during an on-the-spot assessment.
Sanwo-Olu said, “No written report can truly reflect the pain or the full extent of this loss.”
He commended firefighters and emergency responders for preventing further damage.
The governor said the state government would continue assessing the situation and offer support to those affected.
Some traders alleged that the state fire service failed to extinguish the blaze promptly despite arriving early.
Responding, the controller-general of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said poor storage practices and highly combustible materials fuelled the fire.
Adeseye added that crowd control challenges, limited access and the interconnected structure of the buildings worsened the spread of the inferno.