LAGOS, NIGERIA — The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, visited the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State on Monday night following a fire outbreak at Terminal 1, part of the airport’s older infrastructure currently under renovation.
According to Keyamo’s post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning, he arrived at the airport around midnight to join the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Olubunmi Kuku, and the authority’s management team in overseeing efforts to contain the fire.
The minister praised FAAN personnel and other first responders for their quick actions, saying their coordinated response helped to limit the damage and safeguard lives.
“I commend FAAN personnel and first responders for their swift activation of established emergency procedures. Their prompt and coordinated actions were instrumental in safeguarding lives and limiting the impact of the incident. I have directed the fire department of FAAN and the Lagos State Fire Service to maintain an overnight vigil at the airport to ensure that the fire is properly put out,” Keyamo stated.
He also announced plans to inspect the terminal at daybreak to assess the extent of the damage and issue necessary directives. “At dawn, I will be undertaking a tour of the airport to assess the extent of damage caused by the fire and to give necessary directives,” he added.
Henry Agbebire, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN, confirmed that emergency response teams were on-site managing the situation. “We are aware of the outbreak, and we are there right now. We will publish a statement shortly. Our firefighting team is currently responding and working to curtail the situation,” he said, adding that there were no casualties.
Passengers and other airport users were advised to remain calm while authorities continued their efforts to extinguish the fire fully and evaluate the damage. The incident occurred at a terminal undergoing upgrades to improve passenger experience.
Okay News reports that investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.
