Tuesday, 6th July 2021: Fire erupted in a building inside the Synagogue Church of All Nations headquarters in Lagos Monday night as the funeral ceremony of TB Joshua, the founder of the church, got underway.

The fire, which was noticed at about 11 p.m., affected a building that a witness said housed a store on the premises, some metres away from the church’s main auditorium

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but the witness, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak, said it resulted from an electrical spark.

As of midnight, the fire has been largely contained by a crowd of worshippers who were using containers to scoop water from near the church and dashing to douse the flames.

Officials of the Lagos State Fire Service arrived at about 12:15 a.m.

Joshua’s weeklong funeral ceremony began on July 5 with a candlelight procession at the church’s prayer mountain in Ikotun, Lagos.

Other activities lined up for the ceremony include a tribute service on July 6 and 7, lying-in-state on July 8, laying to rest and internment on July 9, and a thanksgiving service on July 11

The popular televangelist died on June 5, according to his church, a few days before his 58th birthday.