Fire has gutted another Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Nigeria’s southern region.

The police command in Enugu, according to its preliminary investigations, says a power surge caused the fire outbreak at the INEC Obollo-Afor office.

On Sunday night, INEC’s office at Ohafia local government area in Abia was on fire, according to the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, in a statement issued on Monday via Twitter.

Following the Enugu incident, the police have cordoned off the area for further investigations to determine the specific cause of the fire and the extent of its damage.

The police spokesman in Enugu, Daniel Ndukwe, said this in a statement Friday morning.

Mr Ndukwe disclosed that the fire, which happened at the INEC office in Obollo-Afor located in Udenu local government area, happened on May 13, at about 9.40 p.m.

“The command received a distress call at its Udenu Police Divisional Headquarters alleging that there was fire outbreak at the Obollo-Afor office of the INEC in Udenu council area.

“Police operatives attached to the division immediately raced to the scene while contacting Enugu State Fire Service office in the area to promptly put off the fire,” he said.

The police spokesman added that the fire was put out before it could spread to other offices around the building through the combined efforts of the fire service, the police, and law-abiding citizens.

“Preliminary investigation suggests that the fire may have been caused by a power surge due to sudden power supply to the building before the incident occurred,” said the police.

(NAN)