An office apartment occupied by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ogun State has been set on fire by arsonists.
The electoral body’s office situated at Iyana Mortuary, Abeokuta, sources said, was put on fire by social miscreants, numbering about eight.
The fire affected the store, the registration office and conference room of office.
The arsonist it was gathered gained access into the office,after scaling the perimeter fence of the compound housing the burnt edifice.
The building was set on fire from the back by the miscreants,who had soaked loaves of bread with petrol throwing same into the building at different angles to light up the INEC office.
It was learnt that the security guard at the facility, Azeez Hamzat, had made a distress call to the police around 1AM, saying the facility was on fire.
The police from Ibara division were said to have mobilized detectives to the scene, while contacting fire fighters, who raced to the scene to put out the fire.
Nonsensitive materials were also affected by the fire while no life was lost to the fi
Already, the Ogun INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Niyi Ijalaye, has confirmed the incident, describing it as shocking.
“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.
“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),” Ijalaye said.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report.