the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) suspended the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in a local government in Enugu state following an attack on officials.
The unnamed commission officials were attacked by gunmen on Wednesday at a community primary school in Umuozzi Ward 19 of the Igboeze North local government area of the state.
While no casualties were reported, INEC national spokesman Festus Okoye said staff members suffered varying degrees of injuries as a result of the attack.
He said the commission also lost two of its check-in machines, while staff involved in the attack lost their personal belongings.
“Gunmen fired sporadically into the air to disperse registrars and registration officials. In the stampede that followed, one of our employees was injured and is receiving treatment at a hospital.
“However, two voter registration machines and personal belongings of staff such as mobile phones were lost,” he said.
“Accordingly, district-level voter registration in Igboeze North is suspended,” Okoye said in a statement Thursday.
repeating decimal
Wednesday’s attack is the second at INEC’s Igboeze North LGA branch in Enugu State in July.
Still unidentified, the arsonists attacked the commission’s office at the LGA itself on July 3 before setting the facility on fire.
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The arsonists forced their way into the premises after overpowering the security guards on duty.
No casualties were reported, but 748 ballot boxes, 240 voting booths, office furniture and equipment were destroyed in the inferno created by arsonists.
PREMIUM TIMES in May also reported an attack on the commission’s office in Igboeze South, a local government area close to where the latest attack occurred.