Many residents on Tuesday stormed the Odi-Olowo, Osogbo office of the Global Food Initiative and looted the warehouse where food items were stored
operators of the scheme.
The incident followed reports of tension in Osogbo on Monday after operators of the cheap food initiative disappeared, leaving residents who had paid for subsidised food items stranded.
On Monday, scores of residents who had deposited various sums for food items at prices below market rates gathered at the organisation’s office at Odi-Olowo, waiting for the operators to open for business.
A resident identified simply as Mistura said she deposited N300,000 last Wednesday to purchase 11 bags of rice at N27,000 per bag.
According to her, collection of items was usually one week after payment, adding that the 11 bags would have cost N605,000 at the current market price of N55,000 per bag.
Another investor, Olamide, said she paid N1.2 million for various food items meant for her stepdaughter’s forthcoming wedding ceremony.
“I got here this morning and met a crowd waiting to be attended to, but the operators were nowhere to be found. I was warned, but I never thought they would run away this early. The items I paid for were to be used for my stepdaughter’s wedding ceremony,” she said.
On Tuesday, more residents who had paid for items converged on the office, insisting on waiting for the operators to resume.
Despite appeals
However, at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, some persons forced open the warehouse and looted food items including bags of rice, noodles and groundnut oil.
The looting continued despite heavy rainfall, while a handful of police operatives on ground battled to control the crowd.
As of the time of filing this report, the looting was still ongoing, with security agents firing canisters to disperse the crowd.
Details later…
