TVCNEWS — broadcast
20260920 113000 UTC
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[00:00:01] w, from meetings to evening soirs i'll
[00:00:05] be there, all
[00:00:06] to the trendiest street festivals or to
[00:00:08] of music concert even's day has something for everyone,
[00:00:12] so join me as we explore the vibrant tapestry of
[00:00:15] nigerian scene, one event a
[00:00:18] time.
[00:00:24] a
[00:00:47] The fire burns for over 24
[00:00:50] hours,
[00:00:55] on Christmas Eve, 2025, the inferno
[00:00:59] consum. to one of
[00:01:00] of Lagos Island's most recognizable
[00:01:04] of landmarks, the great naria insurance
[00:01:07] building,
[00:01:08] of GNI. a Within
[00:01:09] of hours
[00:01:13] decades of investment were reduced to
[00:01:16] arsh with years of
[00:01:18] in work disappearing
[00:01:20] in a single night. Official
[00:01:24] records later
[00:01:25] in confirmed eight people, including three siblings
[00:01:29] lost the... alive to the Balohum market
[00:01:31] fire. Steven Omatu, Kasmir
[00:01:35] Omatu and Collins Omato
[00:01:38] of were trapped with their bodies buried beneath the
[00:01:41] smoke.
[00:01:44] Miraculously, Lukman abogum, better known
[00:01:48] as batchman, was rescued after hours of being
[00:01:51] trapped beneath the colapse
[00:01:54] of concrete. It was one
[00:01:56] of of of the 13 oters rescued from the wreckage.
[00:02:00] of "i lost everything, my goods, nothing now, something that somebody
[00:02:04] not pack together
[00:02:06] in a day that was just
[00:02:09] of ring and
[00:02:10] of in a day, so so painful,
[00:02:12] really, as
[00:02:16] it does settles, another story begins to
[00:02:19] emerge, the december 2025 inferno was
[00:02:23] devastating, but it was not
[00:02:27] of unprecedented, previous
[00:02:29] of report show. that fires have repeatedly scarred
[00:02:33] these commercial district over the
[00:02:35] years. The
[00:02:38] first fire incident in the GNI house was in
[00:02:42] 2005, then the complex experienced
[00:02:46] a major fire in 2013
[00:02:50] that the recent one in
[00:02:53] of 2025. Investigations
[00:02:56] a into
[00:02:57] me previous incident repeatedly identified.
[00:03:00] familiar safety concerns
[00:03:02] and many other
[00:03:05] systemic violations. Each incident
[00:03:09] sounded alarm, each alarm was followed
[00:03:13] by another
[00:03:15] of fire.
[00:03:17] i On January 2nd, governor Babalu
[00:03:21] stood at this spot, his verdict was
[00:03:24] blunt. One
[00:03:26] of the things that has come to us is the clearlessness of people.
[00:03:30] is people choosing to want to save their
[00:03:34] ws as again saving their lives, because
[00:03:37] in a fire it doesn't happen in two minutes, didn't happen in three minutes, it was
[00:03:41] couple of hours and i was getting report or tout the night
[00:03:45] advising
[00:03:46] a people to leave the side, people chose not to, this old area,
[00:03:50] 100 meters from this side will remain short, it
[00:03:53] will remain
[00:03:55] of close for building, i'm sorry for businesses, the
[00:03:59] restrictions st has another conversation
[00:04:02] of for those whose businesses were shot due to the
[00:04:07] of directive taking full
[00:04:10] a account of
[00:04:12] in officers either of local government or the state government that might have issued
[00:04:15] out
[00:04:16] of in one form or the other approvals or compliance
[00:04:20] in which they are meant to have raised by all their buses are here and i've
[00:04:24] told them that they need to give me names. this is story traising
[00:04:28] the real effect of system.
[00:04:30] failure:
[00:04:39] month later, demolation
[00:04:42] of begins of from the upper floors, break by break,
[00:04:48] of manually, the building that once helped thousands stand
[00:04:51] of tall is now struggling to remain standing with the
[00:04:55] of carcas surrounding the
[00:04:57] a skeletal structure, bearing scars. the devastating
[00:05:02] of incident, about 15 buildings have
[00:05:04] of been taken down, including shitter Bay
[00:05:07] mask, to
[00:05:11] understand why the... Options of manual and not controlled
[00:05:15] demolition. Mudent safety experts say
[00:05:19] the decision may be informed by several
[00:05:22] factors. For building to be marked for demolition,
[00:05:26] there must have been a serious threats
[00:05:30] to life. Yes, the most important thing in that is
[00:05:34] safety. No, no amount of money is what a
[00:05:37] single human life, yes, and so the government must be
[00:05:41] responsible. enough to protect every single
[00:05:44] life that is entrusted under them, and
[00:05:48] so that may have informed the mode of
[00:05:51] demolition. first of all, when you talk about control demolition,
[00:05:55] it involves implosion using explosives and
[00:05:59] of course that is done within short period, for
[00:06:03] instance, if that building has to be demolished can be demolished within
[00:06:06] one one one day, all they need to do is to
[00:06:10] take the pro section
[00:06:13] the things that may come out the
[00:06:16] inclusion take care of it so that it doesn't get to the ad joining
[00:06:20] buildings, the government, i believe they know
[00:06:23] that under a control system using
[00:06:27] high-tech equipment like it will happen
[00:06:30] any climb, the believe i believe that that's
[00:06:34] a better alternat but a
[00:06:38] situation where they are
[00:06:42] aware. of this control a more efficient system that
[00:06:46] is less risky and
[00:06:49] uh they will see issues to do at the
[00:06:53] manual demolition which still endangered the life
[00:06:57] of people, the life of people walking on the
[00:07:00] side, the life of people living
[00:07:04] around uh, it
[00:07:07] it it tells us, it speaks
[00:07:10] volumes about. the state the
[00:07:13] economy, so I know that
[00:07:17] legal state government, they know that there are better ways, the
[00:07:21] are more efficient way that which uh,
[00:07:23] which is less
[00:07:25] risky, with every
[00:07:29] trail simply turning this outbreak into
[00:07:33] something unexpected, unforcin, it
[00:07:37] is difficult not to wonder if this is
[00:07:41] simply the demolition. of building or the slow
[00:07:45] dismantling of unanswered
[00:07:47] questions, beyond the twisted steel
[00:07:51] and shuttered concrete lies another kind of
[00:07:54] rubble, lives interrupted, businesses
[00:07:58] erased, dreams force to begin
[00:08:01] again. i've gotten very small place with the help the
[00:08:05] union and an imam of our they've a
[00:08:08] marks here, given very small place that i'm managing, but
[00:08:12] the financial thing now to get up, even in time of medical things,
[00:08:16] i'm still having challenges over it, shoe,
[00:08:19] canvas, sell shoes and canvas at
[00:08:23] great Nigeria, i've been selling there for the past 20
[00:08:26] years, selling my wears, it was there gave birth
[00:08:30] to my children, since i've been there, i've been making
[00:08:34] gradual sales, but now it has caught fire, we've not seen
[00:08:38] a place to sell our wears, it is this place that we were given
[00:08:42] to sell and we barely have customers because they
[00:08:45] complain that the roads are blocked. while no
[00:08:49] slacking official has been publicly penalized, the
[00:08:53] laker state government has distributed palliatives to the
[00:08:56] victims who lost their businesses, but
[00:09:00] survivors say nothing has been done about those
[00:09:04] whose lives were crushed in the fire. most these
[00:09:08] guys are young men that leave widows behind, three kids
[00:09:11] of two years, the years, five years, so and so
[00:09:15] far is little thing that the husband left behind, and most of things they
[00:09:19] left behind are born, so the family are
[00:09:22] still a nagony that needed
[00:09:26] assistant of government, we are pleading to government to please come
[00:09:30] to our aid, really then try, then give us just small
[00:09:34] small petty petty rice, smart, but not
[00:09:38] that one that we need, we need government
[00:09:41] interv'. we need them to please come, we
[00:09:45] have another location in legos island,
[00:09:48] you can locate our people there, we have another market in Legos
[00:09:52] Island that belong to government, you can please help our
[00:09:56] market, help our people in this community,
[00:09:59] because people lost a h amount, my own
[00:10:03] position as one the community leader, we are here to save our
[00:10:06] people here, most especially the market people, which
[00:10:10] our baba f'. really really try for
[00:10:14] us, he's the one give them the opportunity, we are
[00:10:17] giving time to open and time to close, at least we open by
[00:10:21] 6 o'clock and close at 6 o'clock
[00:10:24] in the evening. so and the area that is directly close
[00:10:28] directly close to the the Great Nigeria
[00:10:32] house is a codoned off
[00:10:34] and we cannot nobody
[00:10:37] goes into that area so that they can see space to carry out the
[00:10:41] demolition which is
[00:10:43] ongoing as demolition
[00:10:47] continues lagos island may soon lose one of
[00:10:51] its tallest skyscraper but
[00:10:55] ability still locks with many unanswered
[00:10:58] questions. expert express hope
[00:11:02] that the collapse of strengthen enforcement before
[00:11:06] another fire forces Lagus to
[00:11:09] relieve the same painful
[00:11:12] conversation. Aminat
[00:11:15] Miskilo. TVC news
[00:11:17] Lagos.
[00:12:00] Ogun state, southwest Nigeria is one the most prominent
[00:12:04] states in the country. The state derives its name
[00:12:08] from the Ogun river, a powerful river that
[00:12:12] flows through the state and empties into the Legos
[00:12:15] Lagoon. The capital
[00:12:19] the sits on the banks the river.
[00:12:23] For anyone traveling from into abeta,
[00:12:27] crossing the og river has always been a
[00:12:29] necessity. is
[00:12:33] agably one the first Nigerian cities to enjoy a
[00:12:37] direct and enduring relationship with the colonial
[00:12:40] administration. that
[00:12:43] relationship was made manifest as early as
[00:12:46] 1909 when Abel Os connected to Lagos
[00:12:50] by the
[00:12:51] rail.
[00:12:57] In order to achieve that, the very first railway
[00:13:01] bridge was constructed across the og river to transport
[00:13:05] goods and agricultural produce from the arts of
[00:13:09] egbland to Lagos. More than 100
[00:13:12] years later, the Ogun river in Abilgoda is now
[00:13:16] spanned by four functional bridges. The
[00:13:20] old Lafenwa bridge constructed and inaugurated in
[00:13:23] 1959. and the concrete bridge recently
[00:13:27] erected by it side to reduce load and to make it
[00:13:31] dual carriage way. other bridges are
[00:13:34] the briri bridge that also links lafen wa
[00:13:38] from the right side the briri junction and
[00:13:42] oloore on the left side and the okwako adigwe
[00:13:45] bridge which links the orada oko area of
[00:13:49] apekuta, while the lafewa bridge and the orders
[00:13:53] built after it remain inactive. use 7 thousands of
[00:13:56] vehicles daily, the first bridge that started the journey now stands
[00:14:00] in a state of
[00:14:01] abandonment.
[00:14:06] this century old historic bridge was constructed for both railway
[00:14:10] and pedestrian use. it is located in the
[00:14:13] ararom area of and it
[00:14:17] connects to orienrin,
[00:14:20] agbẹloba, the old post office atunseke, and
[00:14:24] into okewu. which is the commercial district the
[00:14:27] town, during my visit to Araaro Muri yori,
[00:14:31] set to a I out catch glimpse the historic bridge that once served
[00:14:35] as the major link between the colonial authorities and the people
[00:14:39] of Arbe Okuta and the rest the
[00:14:41] country. What I found was an engineering
[00:14:45] masterpiece, a structure build with
[00:14:48] quality steel and anchored by solid concrete
[00:14:51] pillars that form its foundation across the...
[00:14:55] river, the bridge was also designed with
[00:14:58] pedestrian walkways on both sides, allowing
[00:15:02] people to move freely even as trains passed.
[00:15:06] now the story has changed, years of abandonment
[00:15:10] and vandalization have taken their toe. most
[00:15:13] the railings have been removed and the wooden deckings on
[00:15:17] the pedestrian sections as decayed,
[00:15:21] yet people still use the breed daily to connect. to
[00:15:25] the toushin and aro axis the town. Un
[00:15:29] deterred by the risk, both young and old continue
[00:15:33] to cross. To them, this is not just
[00:15:37] a bridge. it is a historic monument that must not be
[00:15:40] allowed to rot away, they also say it makes
[00:15:44] economic sense because crossing the bridge cost nothing, but
[00:15:48] if they are forced to go around and use the bridge at burry,
[00:15:52] transport fair ranges between 600 and 800 na
[00:15:55] depending on negotiation, for a student
[00:15:59] making the trip twice daily over distance of less than
[00:16:03] 700 meters, the cost becomes heavy burden,
[00:16:07] is very closer to it from
[00:16:11] this uh
[00:16:13] to it very closer, you can check it from
[00:16:17] the totion and cost the bridge, this place without any money,
[00:16:21] be sincere without it lot of people will have, i don't have to say it
[00:16:25] really, because lot of people going to school down from
[00:16:28] it to all schools around here,
[00:16:32] agn and afro
[00:16:35] gateway, they do take this and finish um this
[00:16:39] thing, but it was good and fine before, but later on it went off
[00:16:43] like this, based on the fact that parts the bridge have been
[00:16:47] vandalized by those who cut away metal, i was afraid to
[00:16:51] cross, didn't want to mistap, and the height was
[00:16:55] downting. i spoke with pedestrians, especially the women who
[00:16:59] use it daily, but they were indifferent, to
[00:17:02] them it was a way of life, no, except
[00:17:06] in the... maybe they have removed
[00:17:09] some some plank
[00:17:12] so as everything is straight to be faster than what
[00:17:16] i think trains used to pass here
[00:17:20] before but not again as it is now we cross
[00:17:24] the bridge anytime even at night we pass through the
[00:17:27] bridge because it's faster to it both
[00:17:31] young and old including students make use the
[00:17:34] bridge later moved into the host community to speak with
[00:17:38] residents about the historic bridge which they call bridge
[00:17:42] arrow. an 85 year old indigen
[00:17:45] of told me he grew up knowing the
[00:17:48] bridge. he said his parents informed him that it was
[00:17:51] constructed by the british. he said the bridge has
[00:17:55] served the people
[00:17:56] of eg and beyond for more than a
[00:17:59] century.
[00:18:07] up knowing this bridge is very useful for all of us
[00:18:11] here because it's faster to get to
[00:18:15] area, we passed through it to go and sell our
[00:18:18] goods, i also passed through it when i was going to school
[00:18:22] at itaushin, but since strings are no longer passing
[00:18:26] through it, that was when the problem
[00:18:28] started,
[00:18:32] his younger brother shared similar experience recalling how
[00:18:36] the bridge shaped their trade and movement in their younger
[00:18:39] years that
[00:18:41] it is two uh places
[00:18:45] one here one here but now we have only one i have now
[00:18:48] is sp and that b now useful
[00:18:51] for everybody because when i was when i was young
[00:18:54] i was going to school any time we are selling uh
[00:18:58] sugar cane i station but a
[00:19:01] big somewhere now so any time
[00:19:05] one o'clock in the night in the midnight
[00:19:37] we enjoy the bridge, but now
[00:19:41] personally
[00:19:42] i can never
[00:19:45] uh a professor who is resident offer a
[00:19:49] deeper insight into the history behind the bridge and why government
[00:19:53] must not abandoned it and the
[00:19:56] bridge that
[00:19:59] was a real line
[00:20:01] bridge became
[00:20:05] dysfunctional.
[00:20:09] which informs the granite
[00:20:13] connecting centers
[00:20:16] around around
[00:20:18] Ibara became
[00:20:21] disused, so that trail
[00:20:24] line after a long
[00:20:28] abandonment was
[00:20:32] converted into
[00:20:35] residential lines.
[00:20:50] to the granite collection center and today is major
[00:20:53] road called kari road. for the
[00:20:57] alakuso, the head the community, his appeal is
[00:21:00] clear, government should consider the historic, economic
[00:21:04] and developmental values attached to the bridge and come to the
[00:21:08] rescue in the community. the bridge is now
[00:21:11] useful for the uh, somebody using
[00:21:15] legs to cross, so if it can be developed
[00:21:19] in. that the vehicle can be passing through so
[00:21:22] definitely it will reduce the cost
[00:21:26] and the
[00:21:27] the the traffic jam in
[00:21:31] the what they call the place and
[00:21:35] burry
[00:21:36] and
[00:21:40] that place very close to the glory there so definitely
[00:21:43] anybody going
[00:21:44] to this will
[00:21:48] be easier as ' road for death recently,
[00:21:52] the state house of assembly has passed resolution to h
[00:21:56] the state government to consider reconstruction the bridge in
[00:22:00] order to enhance public safety, its traffic congestion
[00:22:04] and to stimulate the local economy in the
[00:22:06] state. the resolution which was sponsored by the
[00:22:10] law maker representing north state
[00:22:14] constituency by bar was passed by the
[00:22:17] assembly for yet to manifest ph. development in the
[00:22:21] area, by reconstructing the
[00:22:24] bridge, we will be writing our names in
[00:22:28] just as our fathers who first build it over
[00:22:32] a century ago, i
[00:22:36] therefore passionately all this honorable house to
[00:22:40] support this motion and call on the state government through the
[00:22:43] ministry of works and infrastructure to take immediate steps
[00:22:47] towards the reconstruction of this all important. for the
[00:22:50] safety, convenience and prosperity of our
[00:22:54] people
[00:22:58] and modernize for the use
[00:23:00] the people of
[00:23:04] open
[00:23:04] stage.
[00:23:08] despite my fears, my desire to work on the historic
[00:23:12] bridge prompted me to give it another
[00:23:14] trial. this time the chairman the community
[00:23:18] development association the area was my guide, he showed
[00:23:22] me how to navigate the bridge without fear,
[00:23:25] then i decided to give it a trial on my own.
[00:23:28] after watching people trying to move on
[00:23:32] this uh bridge, i also want to attempt crossing this bridge,
[00:23:35] although it's a bit scary uh, when you look into the
[00:23:39] water and of course you are on this uh asient bridge, but
[00:23:43] i'm going to uh cross it uh with determination,
[00:23:47] so take a look.
[00:24:34] And finally I'm here, I've conquered
[00:24:38] the fear, uh, looking at this place, it's
[00:24:41] just uh, less than
[00:24:44] um, 500 meters, uh, but
[00:24:48] the danger at... attach to this place currently is what
[00:24:52] people
[00:24:53] are actually calling government attention to, they want the government to actually
[00:24:57] replace this bridge by constructing the concrete
[00:25:00] one and remove this century hood uh railway
[00:25:04] bridge which has been abandoned here, however people
[00:25:08] still plied it every
[00:25:09] day.
[00:25:14] from my experience during the trip, i see the
[00:25:17] 117-year-old bridge, standing as a symbol of
[00:25:21] engineering foresight and the foundation of modern transportation
[00:25:25] in Nigeria, restoring it will honor the vision
[00:25:29] the past leaders and strengthen the courage the future
[00:25:32] generations to dream big about their country with
[00:25:36] commitment to make an indealable impact,
[00:25:40] despite the current major road construction ongoing across the
[00:25:43] state, abandoning this heritage to rot a waste like to lose
[00:25:47] critical part of Nigeria's colony. and pre-independence
[00:25:51] history, a history into the land
[00:25:54] the state
[00:25:56] capital. TBC News
[00:26:00] aberta.
[00:26:27] every day across forests, highways, towns and
[00:26:30] villages, brave men and women stand watch so that Nigeria can
[00:26:34] sleep, they leave their families behind, confront danger head
[00:26:38] on and make sacrifices many of us will never see,
[00:26:42] yet the enemies of our nation continue their assault, they target
[00:26:46] our children, they murder innocent citizens, they force families
[00:26:50] from their homes, they turn thriving communities into places of
[00:26:54] fear and uncertainty, their goal is simple,
[00:26:58] to break our spirit, divide our people and steal the
[00:27:02] future. of our nation, but Nigeria is stronger than
[00:27:05] terror. As we demand greater accountability, stronger security
[00:27:09] measures and more effective action from those entrusted with our safety,
[00:27:13] we must also play our part. Support our security
[00:27:17] forces, salute their galentry, stand with those
[00:27:20] stand for us. If you see something, say
[00:27:24] something. Let us be our brothers keeper. We must
[00:27:28] never surrender to fear, despare or hopelessness. This
[00:27:32] is... not the time for division, not by tribe, not by
[00:27:36] religion, not by region, not by political
[00:27:40] party, because terror recognizes no ethnicity,
[00:27:44] no faith and no ideology, its enemy is all of
[00:27:47] us and together, united as one people, we can
[00:27:51] defeat it for our children, for our communities, for
[00:27:55] our future, for Nigeria, join the
[00:27:59] movement, stand for our country, stand for one
[00:28:03] another #unite against
[00:28:06] terror imagine a country with over
[00:28:09] 300 plenty plenty plenty languages why you
[00:28:12] going to only focus on and gibo when we get a common language where
[00:28:16] they unite everybody froma even mad and every
[00:28:20] person we they introduce to 89.9 yanga
[00:28:24] fm the number one urban fiji radio station station where they unite
[00:28:28] us all from the award winning breakfast show waiting day with your brother your
[00:28:32] friend.
[00:29:02] the last sensible voice where you go here we be
[00:29:06] 89.9 Yanga
[00:29:08] FM. It's your
[00:29:11] street, your community and your
[00:29:14] voice. Now you don't have to
[00:29:18] wonder whom to complain to, from bad roads and poor waste
[00:29:22] management to broken street lights, drainage problems and other issues
[00:29:26] affecting your neighborhood. See it, report it, appraise it,
[00:29:29] complain about it, because your voice matters. And when your voice
[00:29:33] joins the voices of your neighbors, it becomes a voice that cannot be
[00:29:37] ignored. So how do you do this? Visit
[00:29:40] www.lgtracker.ngg and follow
[00:29:44] these steps. Step one: choose the local government you want to
[00:29:47] commend or file report on. Step two: choose what
[00:29:51] category your report falls under. Step three: write your
[00:29:55] report. Step four: submit. Hold your local
[00:29:59] government accountable. See it, rate it. it
[00:30:03] visit
[00:30:03] www.lgtracker.ng,
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[00:30:09] better.
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[00:30:57] momentum builds ahead the 2027 general election.