Tension boiled over in Osogbo, Osun State, as frustrated customers looted a warehouse belonging to operators of a cheap food scheme after the company allegedly disappeared with their money.
The residents, who had paid for rice and other commodities at prices below the prevailing market rates, forced their way into the warehouse and carted away bags of rice, noodles and groundnut oil stored at the facility.
The incident occurred around 4pm on Tuesday at the Odi-Olowo area of Osogbo, where scores of affected customers had gathered to demand their goods or refunds after the operators failed to show up for business.
It was gathered that the crisis began yesterday when residents who had deposited money with the Global Food Initiative for food supplies waited at the organisation’s office, only to discover that the operators were nowhere to be found.
One of the customers, identified as Mistura, said she paid N300,000 for 11 bags of rice at N27,000 per bag, adding that the same quantity would have cost about N605,000 at the prevailing market price of N55,000 per bag.
Another customer, Olamide, said she deposited N1.2m for different food items she planned to use for her stepdaughter’s forthcoming wedding, expressing disappointment after the operators allegedly vanished.
The situation became tense on Tuesday as the affected residents refused to leave the premises despite an appeal by the owner of the building to allow security agents to identify the operators and explore ways of recovering the money paid by customers.
The looting continued despite a heavy downpour, while a few police operatives at the scene struggled to control the crowd.
Security agents were later seen firing tear-gas canisters in an attempt to disperse the residents as the situation escalated.