Property destroyed in yet another attack on INEC office in Imo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Oru west LGA of Imo state has been attacked.

In a statement on Sunday, Festus Okoye, INEC’s commissioner for information and voter education, confirmed the incident.

The development is the latest in a series of attacks on INEC facilities across the country.

In the past weeks, the commission’s offices in Osun, Ogun, and Ebonyi were recently set ablaze, with thousands of permanent voter cards (PVCs), ballot boxes, and other election materials destroyed.

On December 1, the INEC office in Orlu LGA of Imo was razed.

Speaking on the latest incident, Okoye said Sylvia Uchenna Agu, resident electoral commissioner (REC) for Imo, reported that the INEC office was attacked at about 4.00 am on Sunday.

“The attack affected the Conference Room where office furniture and fittings were destroyed. However, other critical facilities were not affected,” he said.

“It would be recalled that on Thursday, December 1st, 2022, our office in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State was also attacked.

“Overall, this is the 7th attack on our facilities in five States of the Federation in the last four months.

“Once again, the commission expresses its concern on the consequences of what appears to be a systematic attack on its facilities across the country on the conduct of elections in particular and electoral activities in general.

“The attention of the security agencies has been drawn to this latest incident for investigation and prosecution.”