Insurance Firm  Sympathises with Fire Victims, Assures Customers

Ebere Nwoji

The management of Great Nigeria Insurance Plc (GNI), has sympathised with victims of fire incident that occurred in the  Great  Nigeria  Insurance House at  no 47/57 Martins Street Lagos Island during Christmas break.

The company also  said it wished to inform and reassure  its customers, stakeholders  and the general public that the  fire incident has not affected its  operations in any way.

GNI  management in a statement made available to THISDAY stated: “GNI does not maintain any office in the burnt building, nor does it conduct any operations whatsoever therein”.

Explaining its position in the burnt building, the GNI management stated: “We wish to state for the records that Great Nigeria Insurance Plc. (GNI) was granted a long lease of bare land at No. 47/57, Martins Street, Lagos Island by the Shitta-Bey Family and this lease is due to expire on the 31st of December, 2036. GNI erected a 25-storey building on the said land for strategic investment purposes (the property).It is noteworthy that GNI has since been in court with the Shitta-Bey family on the property because the family instituted three separate suits against GNI at both the Lagos State High Court and the Federal High Court. All the suits were decided in favour of GNI. Thereafter, the family filed separate appeals in the Lagos Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal,” it stated.

GNI said in the interim, the substantive suit challenging the family for trespass is still pending at the Lagos Judicial Division of the High Court of Lagos State.

“Consequently, GNI has for over five years been denied physical possession of the property. Our company neither has any dealings whatsoever with the management nor with any of the tenants occupying the property for these years,” it stated.