The office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Sankara, Ukum Local Government of Benue State was attacked and burnt on Wednesday by protesting youths.
INEC confirmed this in a statement issued by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee in Abuja, who quoted a report from INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Benue, Prof. Sam Egwu, as saying that the incident occurred at 2pm on Wednesday.
He said that the office was set on fire by youths in the area protesting against the activities of bandits in the area.
Some of the items destroyed, according to the statement, include furniture, 10 electric generators, 300 ballot boxes and 270 voting cubicles, among others.
“Although no casualties were recorded, the building has been extensively damaged.
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“Office furniture and other movable and immovable materials, including 10 electric generators, 300 ballot boxes and 270 voting cubicles, were destroyed in the attack,” Olumekun said
He said that the attention of security agencies had been drawn to the incident and they had already deployed their personnel to the area.
Olumekun noted that security agencies have been alerted and have already deployed personnel to the area to restore order and investigate the incident.
Data released by the INEC detailed that in December 16, 2022, the commission recorded 50 attacks on its facilities across 15 states in the last four years, with Imo State topping the list of states affected with 11 incidents.
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