Hoodlums set fire to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, headquarters in the Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, destroying 340 ballot boxes and an unknown number of Permanent Voters’ Cards, or PVCs, among other things.
After similar incidents in Ogun and Osun states on November 10, 2022, this is the third time in less than three weeks that INEC’s local government offices have been attacked.
Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner for INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, made this announcement in a statement yesterday.
The Izzi Local Government Area office of the commission, which is located in Iboko, was allegedly set on fire yesterday morning, according to Mrs. Onyeka Ugochi, the Ebonyi Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC.
According to Okoye, “the incident happened around 10:00 am when some unidentified persons set the entire building on fire.”
Although there were no injuries, he claimed that the main building and all of its moveable and immovable contents were destroyed. There are also unspecified numbers of Permanent Voters’ Cards, as well as 340 ballot boxes, 130 voting cubicles, 14 electricity generators, sizable water storage tanks, various office furnishings and fixtures, and 130 voting cubicles.
The event has caught the attention of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, who have started an inquiry, according to Okoye.