Heart-pounding videos capturing the sheer terror of United Bank for Africa (UBA) employees hurling themselves from upper-floor windows to escape a ferocious fire have taken social media by storm, leaving Nigerians reeling and demanding answers on workplace safety. The clips, shared widely under captions like “This is not funny,” show desperate staff at the bank’s Broad Street branch in Lagos Island abandoning all caution as thick black smoke chokes the Afriland Towers, a six-storey commercial hub housing UBA alongside the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other firms.
The inferno erupted around 1:38 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, reportedly igniting in the basement inverter room before racing upward, trapping dozens inside the bustling high-rise. Eyewitnesses described pandemonium in the Central Business District: alarms blaring, crowds gathering below, and frantic calls to emergency services. “People were screaming, jumping like their lives depended on it – because they did,” one onlooker recounted in a viral X post, as footage showed workers clambering onto fire service ladders or, in gut-wrenching seconds, leaping from second- and third-floor ledges onto makeshift cushions formed by colleagues and passersby.
Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service crews from Ebute Elefun and Sari Iganmu stations mobilized swiftly, battling the blaze for hours and evacuating survivors with aerial ladders. Deputy Controller General Ogabi Olajide confirmed the rapid response, crediting it with preventing a worse catastrophe, though the cause – suspected electrical fault in the inverter – remains under probe. UBA swiftly issued a statement dispelling rumors that its Marina headquarters was hit: “The affected building is not UBA House… We have ensured the safety and well-being of our branch staff, customers, and other visitors.” No fatalities have been reported, but minor injuries from jumps and smoke inhalation sent several to nearby hospitals.
The footage, first surfacing on X mere minutes after the alarm, has amassed millions of views overnight, blending horror with outrage. One clip, timestamped mid-afternoon, zooms in on a suited banker hesitating at a smoke-filled window before dropping to a lower awning, landing with a thud amid cheers from the crowd below. Another shows a group of women, hand-in-hand, edging along a ledge as flames lick the frames behind them – a scene that’s prompted floods of prayers and fury. “This is not funny. Where are the fire exits? Sprinklers? Drills?” fumed user @JoshuaOdidika, echoing a chorus of netizens slamming lax safety protocols in Nigeria’s corporate towers. Hashtags like #UBAFireOutbreak and #LagosIslandFire trended nationwide, with posts racking up thousands of shares: “Jumped from a 6-storey? God forbid! Audit these buildings NOW,” one viral reel captioned.
This isn’t Lagos’ first brush with high-rise horror – echoes of the 2022 Victoria Island blaze and Ebutte Ero market inferno linger – but the UBA incident has amplified calls for mandatory fire audits and better-equipped emergency responses. Activists and unions are already mobilizing, with the Nigeria Labour Congress vowing to probe corporate negligence. As cleanup crews sift through the charred remains today, the videos serve as a stark reminder: in Nigeria’s economic heartbeat, one spark can turn survival into spectacle. UBA has pledged full support to affected staff, but for many online, the real payout is accountability – before the next alarm sounds.