Fire guts Christ Embassy Church’s headquarters in Lagos

By Christopher Oji

The headquarters of the Christ Embassy Church, located in the Oregun area of Ikeja, Lagos State went up in flames, yesterday morning.
The cause of the fire was not yet known at the time of this report, but there was confusion as members of the church ran helter-skelter as emergency responders, including the police, Fire Service, other emergency responders and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LATSMA) made efforts to put out the fire.
As of press time, no official statement had been made either by the church or any of the government agencies, including the police.
Multiple videos from the scene went viral on social media. Officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service were also said to be at the scene in efforts to salvage the situation.
Confirming the incident, the Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said: “At 07:27 hours, a fire outbreak was reported at the Christ Embassy Church, located on Billings Way, Ikeja. Firefighting units from Alausa and Ikeja fire stations were promptly dispatched and arrived at the scene by 07:36 hours. The church auditorium was found to be engulfed in flames. The fire is currently under control.
“In addition, an excavator is being used to pull down some parts of the building to ensure complete extinguishment and to prevent further structural collapse. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and investigations are underway to ascertain its origin. No casualties have been reported at this time. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available”.
Meanwhile, reacting to the fire incident, Founder and the General Overseer of Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, said: “Nothing happens in the life of a child of God by accident. During the 2001 Ikeja cantonment bombing incident, the building vibrated so much and we thought it was going to collapse. I thought to myself that if it collapsed I was going to build a bigger, better one.
“At the end of the day it didn’t collapse and we called the engineers to see if there was any need to bring it down and rebuild but it was still okay. Now that this has happened, we will build a bigger, better, and more glorious one and the devil will lick his wound.”