Billions of naira g0ne’: How Instagram vendors lost goods to Great Nigeria House !nferno
‘Billions of naira gone’: How Instagram vendors lost goods to Great Nigeria House inferno
Tears, anguish, and a cry for help filtered through Nigeria’s social media space on Christmas Eve. For many importers and Instagram vendors, the festive season ushered in losses reportedly north of “billions”, following an inferno that consumed the 22-storey Great Nigeria Insurance House on Martins Street, Lagos Island.
The fire had lit up the skies on the night of December 24, spreading to adjacent structures, including a mosque, before emergency responders brought it under control.
In an update on December 25, Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, director-general of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said preliminary investigations showed that the fire originated from an apartment on the fourth floor before rapidly escalating to the sixth floor and beyond.
Seven adult males reportedly sustained various degrees of burns and received immediate medical attention from paramedics before being transferred to nearby hospitals.
The building, which served as a warehouse and outlet for clothing materials, alongside corporate offices, housed goods “worth millions”, and in some cases, “billions of naira”, according to affected traders.
Several vendors took to social media to narrate their losses and the emotional toll of the incident.
An importer, with the name ‘Monchericloset_empire’ on Instagram, described the building as “majorly a warehouse”, lamenting that importers had lost goods worth billions of naira.
“To be an importer is not easy. I am not even crying for myself only. I am crying for everybody that has goods in that Great Nigeria House. Imagine billions of naira,” she said.
Another vendor, known as the ‘_houseofemmy’, said illness delayed her from clearing newly arrived goods from the warehouse.
“What type of consolation do I want to give myself? I keep blaming myself. I cannot cheat nature. I have been sick since last week. Terribly sick, and whenever I have migraine, I will be unable to function,” the vendor said.
“Last week, I was called that my market has arrived. I was saying, what is my January market doing now in December? That it was too early. I was like, ‘let me see the way my body will feel when I come back next week, (this week that we want to enter), we will offload everything. I am very sure we would have sold a little bit from the goods in the store and there will be space.
“I was still saying that I would go and pay, not until I saw the fire incident. I just questioned myself.
“Everything people worked for in one year. No single holiday, no single break for me since 2024. I worked all year.”
Also, Bussie_closeet said she delayed clearing her goods until December 29, only for the warehouse to be “burnt to ashes”.
‘I SAW PARTICLES OF MY GOODS… IN THE FLAME’
The 22-storey building in flames
“Imagine losing all my new year goods to Wait and Carry,” she added.
Another vendor, Tifefashionstores confirmed that both personal and pre-order goods were destroyed in the fire, urging customers to be patient as shipping companies were yet to provide full details.
“A lot of people are asking if their exact goods are there or not. We are not certain of all items yet, as the shipping company hasn’t provided all information. With time, we will be back with solid information,” she said.
“Please be gentle on me at this time, that’s all I ask. Millions of naira have gone in the flames, I could see particles of my goods.”
In an emotional post, a TikTok user identified as Bimzee Collections said she lost two shops to the fire.
“God, do you want to take everything from me? People will mock me,” she said.
“I have no one to depend on. I have been struggling since d (sic) age of 12 years old. So all what I have been struggling for since this year has vanished just in a day.”
Some marketers who were able to salvage some of their goods
An Instagram vendor, Chic.hub, said she confirmed the loss of her goods after initially trying to shield herself from the emotional impact.
“I can’t stop thinking about how much stress I went through in China trying to source all these items and how much money went down just to invest in my business. 2025 will forever be a year I will never forget!” she said.
TheCable understands that about 36 containers were in the affected building.
In an official notice circulated among victims, Wait and Carry Cargo said it would not issue payments or refunds to affected customers, citing the losses it also incurred.
The company said the fire destroyed its office, warehouses, and stored goods, adding that it was still conducting a full assessment as not all affected containers had been identified.
“However, we are actively working to put all necessary information together and will continue to keep our customers updated,” the notice reads.
“For now, below is the list of recently offloaded containers that were within the affected building: 638, 640, 648, 653, 656, 657, 660, 661, 668, 669, 674, 675, 676, 677, 678, 679, 681, 684, 687, 691, 695, 701, 703, 704, 705, 707, 708, 709, 715, 716, 717, 719, 720, 723, 724.
“Kindly note that this incident falls under Force Majeure/Act of God, being an unforeseen and unavoidable event beyond the control of the company.
“As a result, no payments or refunds can be made to affected customers, as the company has also suffered a total and severe loss.
“We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this extremely difficult period.”
A similar notice from Express Cargo, another shipping company, also circulated online.
‘NO WRITTEN REPORT CAN REFLECT PAIN’
Some affected shops
Reacting to the incident, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos state, expressed sympathy with the victims and commended emergency responders.
Sanwo-Olu, who visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment, noted that the scale of the loss could not be fully captured in reports.
“No written report can truly reflect the pain or the full extent of this loss,” the governor said.
“I want to thank our firefighters, emergency responders, and all the agencies that worked tirelessly through the night to bring the fire under control. Their courage and dedication saved lives and prevented the damage from spreading further.”
He said the state government will continue to assess the situation and “provide support to those who have been impacted”.
Many traders reported that the state fire service failed to put out the blaze, despite arriving early at the scene.
Explaining the delay in containing the fire, Margaret Adeseye, controller-general of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the affected buildings are predominantly warehouses with poor storage practices, involving highly combustible materials that fuelled the fire’s rapid spread and complicated suppression efforts.
Adeseye added that crowd control and limited access to the scene posed significant challenges for emergency responders, while the conjoined nature of the building structures further aided fire propagation.
