Osogbo residents loot food warehouse after scheme operators disappear

Residents of Osogbo, Osun State, looted a warehouse operated by the Global Food Initiative after the organisation’s staff reportedly disappeared, leaving customers who had paid for discounted food items stranded. The incident occurred on Tuesday at the group’s office in the Odi-Olowo area of Osogbo. The scheme had offered food items below prevailing market prices, attracting residents who paid in advance and expected to collect their purchases after a week.

One resident, identified as Mistura, told PUNCH that she deposited N300,000 for 11 bags of rice. She said each bag was priced at N27,000 through the scheme, compared with a prevailing market price of N55,000. Another customer, Olamide, said she paid N1.2m for food items intended for her stepdaughter’s forthcoming wedding.

She said she arrived at the office and found a crowd waiting, but the operators were absent. Residents had gathered at the premises on Monday after reports that the operators had left, but remained hopeful that the organisation would reopen or provide an explanation. The following day, the crowd again waited at the office.

The owner of the building reportedly appealed to the residents to remain calm while security agents identified the operators and worked out ways to recover the money deposited. The residents refused to leave the premises, however. At about 4pm, some people forced open the warehouse and began removing food items, including bags of rice, noodles and groundnut oil.

PUNCH reported that the looting continued despite heavy rain. A small number of police officers at the scene attempted to control the crowd and fired tear-gas canisters to disperse those involved. The report did not state whether the scheme’s operators had been arrested or how much money had been collected from customers.