Great Nigeria Insurance Plc has reassured members of the public that the recent fire outbreak which gutted the Great Nigeria building has not affected the company’s operations in any way.

The company clarified that it neither maintains any office in the affected building nor conducts any form of business activities within the premises.

In a statement issued on the incident, the insurance firm said, “We refer to the unfortunate fire incident that occurred during the Christmas break at No. 47/57,Martins Street, Lagos Island, and sympathise with everyone who must have been impacted in one way or another by the fire incident.”

The company further explained the nature of its interest in the property, stating, “We wish to state for the record that 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).”

GNI, however, noted that the property has been embroiled in prolonged legal disputes between the company and the Shitta-Bey Family for several years.

The company disclosed that the family had instituted three separate legal actions against GNI at both the Lagos State High Court and the Federal High Court.

It added that all the cases were decided in favour of GNI, but the family subsequently filed separate appeals at the Lagos Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal.