The Independent National Electoral Commission at Ojoto, the Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, came under the onslaught of gunmen on Wednesday, adding to the long list of such incidents in the South East, which has become one of the hotbeds of security breaches in recent years.
It is to be known the reason for the mayhem by the yet-to-be-identified gunmen, but their modus operandi, was similar to some hoodlums, who have sworn that there would be no election in the South East, as they were also said to have attacked the Nnobi Police Station and a residential building at the station.
The gunmen, who reportedly invaded both facilities around 1.45am on Wednesday, were said to have come in four unmarked Sienna vehicles, opening fire on the facilities while igniting them with petrol bombs and other explosives.
After torching the INEC office the hoodlums, who reportedly proceeded to the police station, where they killed the teenage boy and injured another girl, were said to have been repelled by security operatives before they could carry out further attacks on the police facility.
Tochukwu Ikenga, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), and spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command, who confirmed the incident, said security had been reinforced in the area, adding that the command made heavy deployment of security personnel around the state to forestall attacks on other places.
He said: “The Anambra State Police Command today, February 1, 2023, reinforced security deployment in the state following an attack on the INEC office in Idemili South, Ojoto, and Nnobi Police Station. The hoodlums came in their numbers by 1.45am today, February 1, 2023, in four unmarked Sienna vehicles, armed with IEDs, petrol bombs and other explosives. They invaded the INEC office, the police station and a residential building in the station.
“Unfortunately, one boy aged 16 years, a relative of a serving policeman in the station, was murdered by the armed men, while the other, a female aged 15 years old, sustained a gunshot injury. She has been taken to a hospital where she is receiving treatment. The situation is being monitored and further details shall be communicated, please.”
Festus Okoye, spokesman of INEC who said no fewer than 1,240 non-sensitive materials were burnt by the hoodlums, spoke against the report that the commission had recorded over 50 attacks on its facilities across 15 states in the last four years, with the latest being the third attack in state.
The commission, in a statement by Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, revealed that its building was damaged and non-sensitive materials recently delivered in readiness for the 2023 general elections were destroyed, adding however that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), kept in the fireproof cabinet were not affected and assured that elections would still hold in the LGA.
Part of the statement, read: “The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra State, Dr Queen Agwu, reported that our office in Idemili South Local Government Area was attacked and set ablaze by unknown gunmen. The incident occurred in the early hours of today, Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
“The building was substantially damaged. All furniture and other items were destroyed, including non-sensitive materials recently delivered in readiness for the 2023 General Elections. Among the items lost to the inferno were 729 ballot boxes, 243 voting cubicles, 256 election bags, 11 megaphones, one electric power generator and large quantities of indelible ink and liquid gum.
“However, uncollected Permanent Voter Cards kept in the fireproof cabinet were not affected by the inferno. Similarly, no sensitive materials have been delivered to the LGA office. The destruction appears to have been coordinated as the Nnobi Police Station in the LGA was similarly attacked.”