Barely
four days to the Presidential and National Assembly elections, two containers
housing Smart Card Readers were on Tuesday gutted by fire at INEC headquarters
in Awka, Anambra.
The
incident comes two days after the INEC office in Plateau State was destroyed by
fire. Other facilities of the commission, including in Abia, have also been
damaged by fire weeks before the general election.
The
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that officials of the Anambra Fire Service
were still battling with the fire as at the time of filing its report.
Combined
personnel of the Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and
the Department of State Security (DSS) were on ground to ensure safety.
Confirming
the fire, Nkwachukwu Orji, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra, said
he was yet to ascertain the extent of the damage. Mr
Orji said the sensitive materials affected were smart card readers meant for
the general elections.
“I
don’t have the details of how the fire started; all I know is that there was a
fire incident involving the containers that house some of our sensitive
materials.
“We
have to do an assessment before we can ascertain the extent of damage, we have
been storing equipment in that facility since 2011,” he said.
NAN
reports that this incident is the second in the South-east as INEC office in
Isiala Ngwa, Abia was penultimate week set ablaze by unidentified persons.
- NAN
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