The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has confirmed a fire outbreak at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
In a post on X on Monday, February 23, 2026, FAAN reported the incident at Terminal One. No fatalities were recorded, and the authority’s firefighting team is actively working to contain the blaze, it said.
“The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to inform the public of a fire outbreak at Terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
“Our firefighting team is currently responding and working to contain the situation. No loss of life has been recorded.
“Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available,” the agency stated.
Terminal One Remodelling Controversy
Last year, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo defended the Federal Government’s ₦712 billion plan to remodel Murtala Muhammed International Airport’s Terminal One, calling it essential to achieve world-class standards.
Keyamo described the over-40-year-old facility as “rusty,” with leaking roofs, decrepit conditions, foul odors, unauthorized kiosks selling ‘Indomie’, failing ceilings, and broken carousels due to unavailable parts. He made these remarks on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
The massive fiscal approval drew sharp criticism, with detractors accusing the Bola Tinubu administration of misplaced priorities amid record-high inflation, hunger, and soaring living costs for millions of Nigerians.
Keyamo countered that funding would come from the “Renewed Hope Infrastructural Funding” scheme, not the national budget, and warned that without the upgrade, foreign airlines would abandon Nigerian routes.
He said, “As it is today, you cannot land in Lagos (local airport) and try to connect to an international flight, maybe to Ghana.
“Lagos is not a hub, but that was the plan in 1977 when it was designed and in 1979 when it was commissioned. You cannot process one passenger from one terminal to another, so that has stunted the growth of aviation.
“What we are trying to do in Lagos now is to make Lagos a very modern airport and create a proper hub to begin to compete with other hubs in Africa…So, we want to completely pull down Terminal One.
“It is not a refurbishment; we are tearing it down, only the pillars will remain, the carcass, the decking. Everything will go, and they are going to redesign now,” Keyamo added. (Channels)
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