With about three months to the 2023 general elections, suspected hoodlums on Thursday razed the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The office is located at Iyana Mortuary Junction in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The registration area, the store and the conference room of the building were affected by the inferno.
Hoodlums, numbering about eight, had scaled the perimeter fence of the building, jumped into the premises and set the office building on fire from the back.
It was learnt that the security guard at the facility made a distress call to the police in the early hours of the day saying the facility was on fire.
The police from the Ibara Division were said to have mobilised detectives to the scene, while the Fire fighters have also arrived at the scene to put out the fire.
Meanwhile, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Olaniyi Ijalaye has assured the people that the arson at the Abeokuta South Office of the Commission can not stop the elections from holding in the state.
Speaking with reporters in Abeokuta, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ogun State, gave the assurance that credible elections would be held in the state despite the evil act .
He said that The Commission is making an inventory of the things destroyed at the crime scene.
Ijalaye urged the citizens to cooperate with the appropriate agencies to uncover the wrongdoers, saying that it required the joint efforts of the Nigerian Police Force and fire service to get the situation under control.
He pleaded with the populace to protect INEC facilities in their neighborhoods at all times and to refrain from any actions that would jeopardize the stability of the country and the development of its democratic institutions.
