3 months to election, INEC office gutted by fire
With just three months to the 2023 presidential election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Abeokuta south LGA of Ogun state, has been gutted by fire.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the fire incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday.
The INEC facility was allegedly torched by suspected hoodlums who scaled the perimeter fencing into the premises.
The hoodlums, numbering about eight, were said to have soaked loaves of bread with petrol and threw them into the building from different points to light up the facility.
NAN quoted a source as saying Azeez Hamzat, the security guard on duty, made a distress call to the police around 1:00 am that the facility was on fire.
The police from Ibara division reportedly mobilised detectives to the scene, while contacting fire fighters to put out the inferno.
The office of the Registration Area Officer (RAC) and the conference room were affected by the fire.
The source added that non-sensitive materials were also affected.
“No life was lost and no injury was sustained in the fire,” the source reportedly said.
Niyi Ijalaye, the state INEC resident electoral commissioner, described the incident as “shocking”.
“It is correct that our office may have been deliberately torched. The police are investigating the matter. I do not know what to say. I’m in shock myself,” he said.
“We called the police and other security agencies at night. The fire brigade put the situation under control. The level of damage is still being assessed.
“It is very shocking and untoward. The security agencies are doing their very best. We are meeting again later today to come up with other strategies toward securing our facilities.”
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