A fire has broken out at an office of Nigeria’s electoral commission (Inec) in Anambra state, in the south-east of the country, police have confirmed to Report Focus

It is the third blaze to have hit an Inec office this month and happened just four days before Nigerians go to the polls to elect a new president.

Card readers and other sensitive materials for the 2019 general elections were lost in a fire that razed a container in the Anambra State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a statement following a fire at the weekend in Plateau state, in the centre of the country, Inec indicated that it thought that was the result of arson describing it as an “emerging trend”. Nearly 6,000 voters’ cards were destroyed along with other election materials.

Inec also called on the police to provide extra security.

The police are investigating the incidents.

Tuesday’s fire was in the Inec compound in the Anambra state capital, Awka. The police said that it happened inside a shipping container, but it is not clear what has been damaged.

2019 general elections

The 2019 general elections will kick off with the Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 16 while Governorship and State Assembly elections will take place on March 2.

A total of 84,004,084 are registered to vote in the elections.