Another office of electoral commission set ablaze, policeman killed by arsonists few weeks to poll

Suspected arsonists have again attacked another office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Enugu South Local Government Area, Enugu State, killing a policeman and set ablaze security gate house of the commission, few weeks to the general elections

Penpushing reports that the National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education, of the agency Festus Okoye,  said the incident occurred on Sunday at about 9pm, adding that, the attackers, who could not gain entry to the main building, razed the security gate house.

The spokesperson of the commission stated that Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Enugu State, Chukuwuemeka Chukwu reported that the attackers could not get entry into the main building as a result of the rapid response from the police and army personnel from 82 Division.

‘Of the two policemen deployed to protect the facility, one of them lost his life while the other sustained injuries and is receiving treatment. The commission prays for the repose of the soul of the deceased policeman and the speedy recovery of the injured”, he said

Penpushing further reports that Okoye disclosed that a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in Enugu State co-chaired by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and the Commissioner of Police in the state has been convened to discuss the latest incident and design additional strategies for fortifying the offices and protecting the personnel and materials.

‘Although INEC facilities have been targets of attacks across the country in the past few years, attacks in the South East and South-south accounts for over 70 per cent of the total attacks. The commission’s analysis of the incidents showed that between 2019 and 2022, it recorded 26 attacks in the South-east (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo), ten in the South-south (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, and Cross River).

‘INEC also revealed that it recorded ten attacks in the South-west (Ogun, Lagos and Ondo), three attacks in the North-east (Taraba and Borno), one in the North-west (Kaduna), within the period’, the statement said.

Penpushing also reports that  the commission pointed out that, 20 of the total of 50 incidents were by unknown gunmen and hoodlums, 18 during the EndSARS protest, six by political thugs during elections, four as a result of post-election violence and one each as a result of a bandit and Boko Haram attacks.

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