Kwara: 52-year-old man killed in late night inferno on building
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
A 52-year-old man has died in a late-night fire incident that razed a short-let apartment building along Coca-Cola Road in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 11:38 p.m. on Thursday at Lafia Hotel area, where a building used for short-let purposes was gutted by fire.
A statement issued on Friday by the spokesman of the Kwara State Fire Service, PFO Hassan Adekunle, said the affected structure comprised two flats of three bedrooms each, and was not a conventional residential apartment.
“The Kwara State Fire Service responded to a fire outbreak at Lafia Hotel, Coca-Cola Road, Ilorin, at about 23:38hrs on Thursday, 27th February 2026,” the statement read.
“It was an apartment used for short-let purposes, not a residential building. The building consists of two flats with three bedrooms each, and all the rooms were affected by the fire.”
According to the Fire Service spokesman, the entire structure was heavily filled with smoke at the time of the outbreak, making it extremely difficult for occupants to escape.
The Fire Service confirmed that one person, a male, yet to be identified, lost his life in the inferno.
“Tragically, one life was lost in the incident; an unidentified male, estimated to be about 52 years of age,” the statement said.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the fire was attributed to a power surge, as the outbreak reportedly occurred immediately after power supply was restored, leading to rapid fire spread across the building,” the statement added.
Firefighters were said to have arrived promptly at the scene and succeeded in bringing the blaze under control within minutes, deploying three fire appliances to contain the inferno, with additional support from the Federal Fire Service.
The Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, CFS Alabi Muhammed, expressed deep concern over the loss of life.
He urged property owners, particularly operators of short-let apartments, to prioritise electrical safety measures to prevent similar tragedies.
