Picture three brothers trapped screaming in a raging 22-storey inferno while desperate families beg firefighters with empty tanks outside—that’s the gut-wrenching story Rev. Fr. William Omatu shared at their emotional Lagos requiem mass Wednesday.
Stephen (40), Casmir (39), and Collins (37) Omatu died in the Great Nigeria Insurance House blaze that erupted Christmas Eve on Martins Street, Lagos Island, spreading from floor 4 upward, claiming eight lives total including a surviving twin’s escape.
Omatu blasted delayed emergency response—firefighters allegedly arrived waterless despite multi-day inferno affecting mosque and Oluwole Plaza. Rev. Fr. Steve-Greg Chekwube demanded mandatory building exits: “Life trumps property!”
Chekwube comforted mourners: death’s a passage to eternity—strengthen hope! Burial set for Jan 14; LASEMA, Fire Service, Police, Red Cross responded but families cry foul on speed.
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