Former Labour Party presidential candidate and ex-Anambra State Governor Peter Obi joined grieving family members and mourners yesterday in Uzoakwa community, Ihiala Local Government Area, to pay his last respects to three brothers who perished in a devastating fire at the Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) House in Lagos.
The siblings—Stephen Onyeka Omatu (40), Casmir Nnabuike Omatu (39), and Collins Kenechukwu Omatu (37)—were among at least eight confirmed victims of the inferno that engulfed the 25-storey commercial building on Martins Street, Lagos Island, on December 24, 2025.
The blaze, which began on lower floors and rapidly spread, trapped several individuals, including the Omatu brothers, who reportedly made repeated distress calls for help that went unanswered for days.
In a poignant post on X (formerly Twitter) following the burial, Obi described the ceremony as “deeply emotional and heartbreaking.”
He recounted how the young men endured prolonged suffering while trapped, sending pleas that the nation’s emergency apparatus failed to answer.
Their bodies were only recovered days later from the rubble.
“This is not just a personal loss for their family, it is a national loss,” Obi wrote.
“This tragedy should serve as a reminder that our emergency services must be improved and accessible to every citizen.
We cannot continue like this. Every life matters, and no Nigerian should ever have to endure such neglect or be left to perish in such a gruesome way, while help could have been provided.”
Obi extended prayers for the repose of the brothers’ souls—Steve, Casmir, and Collins—and strength for their devastated family, which includes a surviving twin, Camillus Omatu, who escaped the blaze, and a brother who is a Catholic priest.
The family had held a service of songs and Requiem Mass earlier in Lagos on January 7 before the interment in Anambra on January 14.
The incident has reignited public outrage over Nigeria’s fire safety standards, building regulations in high-rise and market areas, and the responsiveness of emergency services.
Earlier reports highlighted the brothers’ desperate communications and the family’s public appeals during the rescue phase, which drew widespread sympathy but ultimately failed to save them.
Obi’s presence at the burial and his renewed call for systemic change have resonated online, with many Nigerians echoing his sentiment that preventable tragedies like this expose deeper failures in governance and infrastructure.
In a prior statement shortly after the fire, Obi had commended initial response efforts by Lagos State authorities while urging intensified rescues—particularly for the Omatu brothers—and long-term reforms.
As the nation grapples with recurring fire outbreaks in markets and commercial buildings, the Omatu brothers’ story stands as a stark symbol of lives cut short by systemic shortcomings.
Obi concluded his tribute with a familiar refrain: “May we never forget them, and may we be moved to ensure such a tragedy never happens again.”
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