An early morning fire, yesterday, engulfed a building belonging to Christ Embassy Church, at its former headquarters in Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.
It was gathered that the fire started at about 7:00a.m.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA ) yesterday started pulling down the affected building as the church management prevented journalists from accessing the scene.
Police officers and soldiers were also deployed to ensure no one accessed the premises.
An eyewitness, Henry Egbuna, said church members initially prevented responders from gaining entrance before the arrival of firefighters.
“I saw a heavy smoke and I rushed to the scene. I saw firefighters drive in, but the church members refused to open the gate for them initially. I don’t know the cause of the blaze.”
Speaking at the scene, Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Dr Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the fire was massive but no death was recorded.
He said: “We have done primary assessment, secondary survey, and looked at it holistically. We moved in with all the emergency responders, and we were able to curtail the spread of the fire. We are now looking at the structural defects and evaluating.
“We are making sure that the place is safe. However, we assure Lagosians that we are on top of the challenges. There is no mortality, no morbidity, despite the fact that the fire was massive. We have commenced damping in.”
When asked about the cause of the fire, he said: “We are carrying out investigations, and we will make our findings public.
“The church has been cooperating. The fact that there is no mortality, despite today being Sunday, shows that we worked together as a team.
“We moved in immediately when the incident occurred and we prevented it from spreading to other buildings.”
Speaking also, Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said: “The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and investigations are underway to ascertain its origin. No casualties have been reported at this time. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.”
Reacting during a live Sunday service at the church’s campground, the founder, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, said what happened was not an accident but an avenue for bigger and better things.
He said: “Nothing happens in the life of a child of God by accident. During the 2001 Ikeja cantonment bombing incident, the building vibrated so much and we thought it was going to collapse.
“I thought to myself that if it collapsed, I was going to build a bigger, better one. At the end of the day, it didn’t collapse and we called the engineers to see if there was any need to bring it down and rebuild, but it was still okay.
“Now that this has happened, we will build a bigger, better, and more glorious one, and the devil will lick his wound.”
