A-yet-to-be-identified policeman assigned to the Independent National Electoral Commission Office in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State was killed when suspected hoodlums set the facility ablaze.
An unnamed community source said men of the Fire Service came early but could not go near the building for fear that the hoodlums were still nearby.
The source said, “The building would not have been razed totally because we called the fire service men and they came early. But they were afraid of going inside because of the person that had been killed.
“Everybody was really afraid. They felt the guys were still around. But we knew that the gunmen had left.”
Meanwhile, INEC spokesperson, Victor Okafor, has said that the commission’s materials were not affected by the fire, only the security house got burnt.
Okafor lamented that people still found pleasure in burning INEC facilities despite efforts by the commission and security agencies to make people’s vote count in next month’s elections.
The Nation reported that the state’s Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, has immediately ordered a discreet investigation and manhunt of the hoodlums.
Ammani, who allegedly suspects that the Indigenous People of Biafra have a hand in the attack, vowed that the policeman won’t die in vain.
He said, “The suspected IPOB/ESN renegades who attacked and attempted to burn the INEC Office at Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area, on January 15, were resisted and repelled by police operatives on duty in the office.
“In the ensuing gun duel, one of the officers sustained a fatal gunshot and was taken to the hospital where he was confirmed dead. His body has since been deposited in the mortuary.
Many of the hoodlums escaped with gunshot injuries.”
