Suspected Hoodlums Set INEC Office In Imo On Fire

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State has been reportedly set ablaze in the early hours of Sunday.

Some youths were said to have invaded the office while the collation of results of the governorship and state assembly elections was ongoing.

The police spokesperson in Imo State, Ikeokwu Orlando, who confirmed this to Channels Television said the reason for the action had not been ascertained but investigations were ongoing.

The security guard at the office was said to have been overpowered by the suspected hoodlums, but the INEC officials reportedly escaped with the election results to the INEC head office in Owerri before the building was set on fire.

Similar attacks on INEC offices occurred in Plateau, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, and the Osun States in the run-up to the general elections, leaving electoral materials including card readers destroyed in the affected places.

Meanwhile, tension is reported to be building in the state following the delay in the collation of results from various local government areas. As at the time of this report, no collation has started at the INEC headquarters, venue of the final collation and announcement of the results.