Customers of a discounted foodstuff scheme in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, have looted the operators’ warehouse after the facility was shut and the operators became unreachable.
Videos obtained by Daily Trust on Tuesday showed residents removing food items from the warehouse of Global Food Initiative, the outfit at the centre of the controversy. The crowd, which had gathered in front of the warehouse for hours, suddenly broke lose, whisking away bags of rice, groundnut oil, among others. The development came a day after hundreds of customers gathered at the premises demanding food items they had paid for or refunds.
The customers had paid in advance for discounted food items offered by the operators, who reportedly shut the premises and became unreachable.
The scheme, which began operations about three weeks ago, sold a 50kg bag of rice for N27,000, 25 litres of vegetable oil for N30,000 and a pack of spaghetti for N10,000.
Customers were required to pay in advance and return after seven days to collect their goods.
Some customers reportedly paid hundreds of thousands of naira, with one woman saying she paid N300,000 for 11 bags of rice, while another said she paid N1.2 million for food items intended for her stepdaughter’s wedding.
The operators have remained unreachable, while the number of affected customers and the total amount collected could not be independently confirmed.
The Osun State Police Command deployed officers to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
The command’s spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the police became aware of the situation after arriving at the scene and that nobody had formally reported the incident at the time.
Daily Trust
