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Posted By Admin On October 15th, 2025
A Yaba Chief Magistrate Court has directed Femi Falana Chambers to initiate the process for the exhumation and autopsy of ten victims of the Afriland Towers fire incident, which occurred on September 16, 2025, in Lagos.
Presiding Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji issued the order on Tuesday after the court learnt that some of the deceased had already been buried.
“The petitioner should write to the Lagos State Government for the exhumation of the dead victims and carry out an autopsy,” Magistrate Adetunji ruled.
The directive followed a petition dated September 29, 2025, from Femi Falana Chambers, addressed to the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, Justice Mojisola Dada, requesting a coroner’s inquest to determine the cause of the victims’ deaths and ensure accountability.
During the preliminary sitting, Magistrate Adetunji instructed all parties involved to file the necessary applications before the next hearing.
The court also summoned several institutions, including the United Bank for Africa, UBA, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Fire Service, Afriland Towers, United Capital, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, and the Lagos State Safety Commission, among others.
The magistrate also directed the petitioner to engage with the families of the deceased to identify those willing to allow exhumation for autopsy purposes. She also appealed for eyewitnesses to come forward and provide testimonies regarding the incident.
Yahaya Atata, a representative from Falana’s chambers, told the court that the day’s proceedings were aimed at bringing all stakeholders together and defining the framework for the inquest.
However, Magistrate Adetunji observed that the legal representatives were not fully prepared and emphasised that the inquest could not proceed until all required documents and applications had been duly filed.
Meanwhile, A. O. Mema, counsel to one of the deceased persons, told the court that his client, Peter Ifaranmaye, a manager at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, had already been buried.
In response, Magistrate Adetunji maintained that an autopsy remained a critical requirement.
“Autopsy is fundamental. We cannot just hold an inquest; there must be an autopsy to know exactly what happened,” she stated.
The case was subsequently adjourned to November 26, 2025, for further proceedings.
Source: https://dailypost.ng/2025/10/15/afriland-towers-fire-lagos-court-orders-exhumation-autopsy-on-victims/
