Trending 
The Coroner presiding over the inquest into the deaths of ten people in the recent Afriland Tower fire in Lagos has instructed Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana to ask the state government to exhume and conduct autopsies on the bodies that have already been buried.
Senior Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji, who serves as the Coroner, gave the directive to Falana—who initiated the inquest—after a lawyer representing one of the deceased told the court that several victims had been buried. She stressed that autopsies were vital to determine the exact causes of death.
Magistrate Adetunji also clarified that families who had already interred their relatives could not be compelled to take part in the process.
Although Falana was absent from court, his counsel, Yahya Atata, represented him during the preliminary session. The Coroner further instructed Falana to liaise with the bereaved families to identify which bodies had been buried, which remained unburied, and which families were open to exhumation for examination.
The Coroner summoned United Bank for Africa (UBA), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), United Capital, both the Federal and Lagos State Fire Services, the Lagos State Safety Commission, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), and the victims’ families to appear at the hearing. She also invited other interested parties to submit applications expressing their interest in the proceedings.
In a letter dated September 29, 2025, Falana urged the Lagos Chief Coroner, Justice Mojisola Dada, to initiate an inquest into the 16 September fire at Afriland Towers on Broad Street, Lagos Island, and to make necessary recommendations under Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law, 2007. The law requires an inquest whenever a death occurs under violent, unnatural, or suspicious circumstances.
The Coroner is expected to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence of similar tragedies. The proceedings have been adjourned until November 26.
