Hoodlums set INEC office ablaze in Ogun

Some hoodlums, suspected to be arsonists, set ablaze an Abeokuta South Local Government’s office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) located at Iyana Mortuary in the Abeokuta metropolis early morning on Thursday.

BusinessDay gathered that the hoodlums, about eight in number, had gained entrance into the Abeokuta South INEC office by jumping over the perimeter fence and set the INEC building on fire from the back, having soaked some pieces of foam mattress in petrol and thrown same onto the building at different angles to put up the INEC office in flame.

Azeez Hamzat, a security guard attached to the facility, who spoke with some journalists on Thursday in Abeokuta, claimed to have made a distress call to the police around 1 am to report the fire incident, and some Policemen from the Ibara Police Divisional Headquarters mobilized detectives to the scene and contacted the firefighters, who raced to the scene to put out the fire.

Our Correspondent also gathered that the store, the Registration Area Officer’s office and the conference room were affected by the inferno, and informed source at the State INEC office told BusinessDay that non-sensitive materials were also affected by the fire, but no life was lost and no injury was sustained in the fire.

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Reacting to the fire incident on phone, Niyi Ijalaye, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Ogun State, confirmed the fire incident, saying the incident was 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, towards securing our facilities in the State”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command is yet to come up with an official statement about the fire incident as Abimbola Oyeyemi, Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, could not be reached as of press time for the official comments.