Office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) situated at Iyana Mortuary lll in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State has been burnt down by some hoodlums in the early hours of Thursday.
According to verified reports from newsmen, in the early hours of Thursday, the hoodlums, about 8 of them, got into the INEC building by jumping through the fence and setting the building on fire.
The gunmen used loaves of bread which they soaked in petrol before throwing them into the INEC office and setting up the fire.
To salvage the building which burning out of control, Azeez Hamzat, the security personnel in charge of the INEC office, put a call across to the police around 1am to inform them of the fire incident.
Arriving at the fire scene, the police operatives from the Ibara Division contacted the state fire service, who arrived moments later to put off the fire.
Conforming the fire incident, Niyi Ijalaye, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ogun expressed his surprise over the incident while adding that “It is correct that our office was set on fire. The police are investigating. I do not know what to say. I’m in shock myself.
“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.”
Expressing his shock, Mr Ijalaye said: “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).”
Affected offices in the fire incident are: office of the Registration Area Officer, conference room and a store.
