May 19, 2021

Unidentified persons have set two offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ebonyi State on fire, leading to severe damage to the buildings.

The electoral body which shared details of the incident in a series of tweets on Wednesday morning said that the affected buildings are in Ebonyi and Ezza North local government areas of the state.

“Last night, Tuesday 18th May 2021, two INEC offices in Ebonyi and Ezza North Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State were burnt down by unidentified persons,” the electoral body tweeted.

It noted that no person was injured during the attack which took place on Tuesday night.

Security formations and offices of the electoral body in the South East have come under attacks in recent months, leading to fears about preparations for the 2023 elections in Nigeria.

A few days back, materials and equipment were destroyed during a fire outbreak at the INEC office in Enugu State.

“This is the third incident involving INEC’s Local Government offices in three States in less than two weeks,” the body said in a statement.

On Sunday, May 16th, 2021, six vehicles were razed with two others damaged following an attack on the Enugu State office of the electoral body.

“The attackers set the foyer ablaze, vandalised some offices in the main building and caused extensive damage to some of the Commission’s movable assets within the premises,” INEC explained.

“Six utility pick up vehicles (Toyota Hilux) were burnt down while two more were smashed and damaged. The security agencies who were at the scene have commenced an investigation.”