UNIDENTIFIED gunmen have attacked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Ojoto, Anambra State.
A police station and an adjoining residential building in Nnobi, located within the state, were also invaded in an attack that left one person dead and another with gunshot injuries.
Both attacks occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, February 1, and were confirmed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Anambra State Police Command Tochukwu Ikenga in a statement.
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“The hoodlums came in their numbers by 1:45 a.m. today, 1/2/2023, with four unmarked Siena vehicles, armed with IEDs, petrol bombs and other explosives, invaded the INEC office, the police station and the residential building in the station.
“Unfortunately, one boy aged 16 years, a relative of a serving policeman in the station, was murdered by the armed men, while the other, a female aged 15 years old, sustained a gunshot injury. She has been taken to the hospital, where she is receiving treatment.”
Ikenga noted that security had been reinforced within the state following the attacks, and the situation was being observed.
The spate of attacks and insecurity in the South-Eastern region of Nigeria has continued to rise in recent days.
INEC offices and police stations have been targeted in attacks by hoodlums, raising fears and tension ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
In December 2022, at least four INEC offices were attacked within three weeks in Imo State alone. Several police stations have also been affected by the violence leading to the death of many security operatives.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.