Razed INEC facilities: Bad omen for 2023
Two offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were set ablaze in Ogun and Osun States by suspected hoodlums.
The Commission had earlier summoned a security meeting over reported attacks on rallies and campaigns of political parties.
The arsonists in the early hours of Thursday, set INEC offices at Iyana Mortuary, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on fire. Almost concurrently, its Ede South Local Government Area office was attacked where some portions were razed by the hoodlums.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Voters’ Education, Festus Okoye, in a statement issued stated that the rising incidents of attacks on supporters of various political parties since the commencement of campaign barely two months ago and the use of hate and incendiary language by some politicians were extremely disturbing.
The PDP presidential campaign rally was allegedly attacked in Maiduguri, where it was claimed that several vehicles were destroyed and some people injured.
Again, this same party’s presidential campaign was attacked three weeks ago in Kaduna. Subsequently, Okoye said the Commission has decided to convene an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), to discuss the disturbing trend.
Okoye confirmed that two of their local government offices in Ogun and Osun States have been attacked.
In the statement, “The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun State, Dr. Niyi Ijalaiye, reported that our office in Abeokuta South Local Government Area was attacked and set ablaze.
“The incident occurred around 1.15am when some unidentified persons overpowered the security personnel on duty and set the entire building ablaze.”Furthermore, Okoye said the main building and all the Commission’s movable assets in the office were destroyed.
Those things destroyed by the inferno as itemized include: 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, eight electric power generators and 65,699 uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).
The suspected hoodlums that perpetrated the evil, numbering about eight were said to have scaled the perimeter fence into the premises and set the INEC building on fire from the back.
They were said to have soaked loaves of bread with petrol and threw same into the building at different angles to light up the electoral body office.The security guard at the facility, Azeez Hamzat, was said to have made a distress call to the police around 1:00am, informing the police of the incident. The police from Ibara division were said to have mobilised detectives to the scene as well as contacting fire fighters, who raced to the scene in a swift response to put out the fire.
The Registration Area Officer’s office and the conference room were affected by the inferno. A source also hinted that non-sensitive materials were also affected by the fire.
Okoye in a related case said the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, reported that INEC’s office in Ede South Local Government Area was also attacked and set ablaze.
According to him, the incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday when some unidentified persons attacked the building and set a portion of it ablaze. Fortunately, he said, “the damage to our Ede South Local Government was limited to a section of the building and only qqsome furniture items were destroyed.”The attention of the Nigeria Police Force and other security and safety agencies has been drawn to the incidents and they have commenced investigation.
“With just 106 days to the 2023 General Election when the Commission has commenced the movement of materials to our offices nationwide, these simultaneous attacks are very worrisome indeed,”, Okoye lamented.
Meanwhile, the Ogun INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Niyi Ijalaye, has confirmed the incident, describing it as shocking. 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),” Ijalaye said.
From all indications, all the incidents were calculated attempts at disrupting the electoral process.
Political office is expected to be a place of service to the people. When you see politicians vying for positions and they turn it into a “do or die” affair, you will begin to wonder why it’s so. When you offer to serve a group of people, and they decline your service, must you force yourself on them? With the way our political players are going about the contest, one would be forced to believe there is more to it. Are they going there to really serve or to be served? The level of desperacy is an indication that there are ulterior motives.
The activities of these arsonists are counterproductive and destructive. The spate of these wanton displays are worrisome. It’s wasteful. In an economy that is enshrined in high inflation rate, where we need to borrow money to finance our deficit budget, we’ll be looking for fund again to replace destroyed facilities. This is retrogressive. No democracy thrives in such atmosphere. It’s unacceptable, and should be denounced in his entity.
We are just in the electioneering campaigns, and all these have started happening, are they telling us we should be expecting the worse during the election proper? It’s actually a bad omen for 2023 general elections.
Our security agencies must step up their game to enhance a peaceful, free, fair, and credible election, where electorate’s votes will count.
Not only this, the political parties and their candidates should imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship, that accepts fate in victory or defeat. So also, like it has always been advocated, our youths should not allow themselves to be used by anybody under any disguise. It’s only by observing all these that we can have a virile and prosperous nation propelled by a strong democracy.
