Anambra Community Mourns As Three Brothers Lost In Lagos Inferno Are Laid To Rest

 

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Grief enveloped Uzoakwa community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State on Wednesday as three brothers who died in a tragic Lagos fire were buried amid tears and prayers.

The deceased — Steve Onyeka Omatu (40), Casmir Nnabuike Omatu (39), and Collins Kenechukwu Omatu (37) — were members of the Omatu family and lost their lives during a fire outbreak at the Great Nigeria Insurance House on Martins Street, Lagos Island, on December 24, 2025.

The brothers reportedly became trapped inside the burning high-rise building, an incident that sent shock waves across Lagos and reignited public concern over fire safety and emergency response in Nigeria.

Family sources revealed that the intensity of the blaze made rescue efforts impossible, leaving only ashes to be recovered and interred.

Before the burial in Ihiala, a service of songs and a Requiem Mass were held on January 7 at Jesus the Saviour Catholic Church, Ejigbo, Lagos.

Prominent personalities present at the burial ceremony included a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress and former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi; the member representing Ihiala Federal Constituency, Pascal Agbodike; and other dignitaries and sympathisers.

Speaking during the burial, Obi urged the family to draw strength from faith while offering prayers for the departed.

“We have no power to question God Almighty. He is the one who gives and takes,” he said.

“I am here in person to console you all, particularly the young widows and your children. It is very painful to lose such energetic and promising young men at this time.

“It’s painful. My prayer is for God Almighty to grant them eternal rest in His kingdom, and also give the family the fortitude to bear the loss.”

Obi also appealed to residents of Anambra State to remember the grieving family in their personal prayers.

The burial plunged the Ihiala community into deep mourning, with residents praying that “their souls find rest and that their family finds strength to pass through this trying time.”

After the interment, emotions overflowed as the deceased men’s young wives, relatives, friends, classmates, and sympathisers gathered to say their final goodbyes.

Several mourners, dressed in black and holding posters bearing the images of the three brothers, wept openly, struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

Family members described the loss as an unimaginable nightmare and the greatest shock they had ever experienced.

Earlier reports had stated that the fire began on the fourth floor of the building and spread to the sixth floor before engulfing other sections and nearby structures.

During the inferno, a detached part of the plaza, estimated to be about seven storeys high, reportedly collapsed, trapping traders and market assistants.

The Omatu family was among the hardest hit, losing three sons, while a surviving twin, Camillus Omatu, was said to have escaped the blaze.

A sister of the deceased, Mimi Nonyerem, had earlier confirmed that a service of songs took place on January 7, while the burial was held on January 14.

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