The Coroner overseeing the inquest into the deaths of 10 individuals in the recent Afriland Tower fire in Lagos has directed Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana to request that the state government exhume the bodies already buried and conduct autopsies.
Senior Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji, the Coroner, instructed Falana, who is the petitioner in the inquest, to formally write to the state government after a lawyer representing one of the deceased informed the court that several victims had already been buried. She emphasised that conducting autopsies is essential to determine the precise cause of death.
The Coroner also noted that families who have already buried their loved ones cannot be compelled to participate in the process.
Though Falana was not present in court, his counsel, Yahya Atata, represented him during the preliminary inquest meeting. Magistrate Adetunji further instructed Falana to meet with the families to identify which victims had been buried, which had not, and which families were willing to allow exhumation for autopsy.
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, and the families of the deceased to appear at the inquest. She also invited any other interested parties to file applications outlining their interest in the proceedings.
In a letter dated 29 September 2025, Falana urged Lagos Chief Coroner Justice Mojisola Dada to conduct an inquest into the tragic 16 September fire at Afriland Towers, Broad Street, Lagos Island, and to make appropriate recommendations under Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law, 2007. The law mandates an inquest whenever a coroner is informed of a death under violent, unnatural, or suspicious circumstances.
The Coroner is expected to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence of such a tragic incident. Proceedings have been adjourned to 26 November.