The Independent National Electoral office situated at Iyana Mortuary lll in Abeokuta the Ogun state capital was razed down in the wee hours of Thursday by suspected hoodlums in the state.
It was gathered that the hoodlums numbering about eight jumped into the building through the fence and set the INEC building on fire from the back.
Reports say that the hoodlums after invading the premises, soaked loaves of bread with petrol and threw same into the building at different angles to light up the INEC office.
Meanwhile, the security guard stationed at the premises, Azeez Hamzat called the police informing them about the fire incident around 1 am.
The police from Ibara division reportedly mobilised detectives to the scene and later contacted men of fire service in the state , who raced to the scene to put out the fire.
When contacted, the Ogun INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Niyi Ijalaye confirmed the incident, describing it as shocking.
The REC said the situation was still being assessed.
He said “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).”
A source in the INEC hinted that the store, the Registration Area Officer’s office, and the conference room were affected by the inferno.
He said that non-sensitive materials were also affected by the fire. adding that “No life was lost and no injury was sustained in the fire,” the source disclosed.
The Ogun state police command is yet to comment on the incident.