The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says its office in Ohafia LGA in Abia State has been set ablaze.
Festus Okoye, the INEC spokesman, who made this known in a statement said the incident occurred on Sunday night, May 9. He, however, said there is no known cause of the fire incident yet adding that investigation into the incident is ongoing.
According to him, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the State, Dr. Joseph Iloh had reported that INEC’s recently renovated office in the local government was set ablaze by hoodlums.
“There are no casualties on the part of our staff on guard duty but the building was virtually destroyed. Apart from furniture items, all electoral materials and office equipment were destroyed.
The latest incident in Abia State is one too many. This is not the first attack on the Commission’s facilities in the State in recent times. Five months ago on 13th December 2020, the INEC LGA office in Aba South was completely burnt down while that of Arochukwu LGA was vandalised and ransacked in October 2020.
These facilities are national assets, which must be protected. Accordingly, the Commission is convening an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week to discuss this disturbing trend,” he said.
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INEC pic.twitter.com/lAesonF0br
— Stoney Icy (@StoneyIcy) May 10, 2021
