Angry customers of a discounted foodstuff scheme in Osogbo, Osun State, reportedly looted the operators’ warehouse after the facility was shut and the company became unreachable.
Videos obtained by Daily Trust on Tuesday showed residents removing bags of rice, groundnut oil and other food items from the warehouse of Global Food Initiative, the organisation at the centre of the controversy. The crowd had gathered at the facility for hours, demanding either the food items they had paid for or refunds. Tensions reportedly escalated before some customers broke into the warehouse and began taking away food products.
Customers Required to Pay
The incident came a day after hundreds of customers converged on the premises over concerns about the scheme. Global Food Initiative had reportedly launched the discounted food programme about three weeks earlier, offering 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 purchases. Some customers said they had paid substantial amounts under the scheme. One woman reportedly said she paid N300,000 for 11 bags of rice. Another claimed to have paid N1.2 million for food items intended for her stepdaughter’s wedding.
However, the operators reportedly shut the warehouse and became unreachable, leaving customers unable to collect their orders or obtain refunds. The number of people affected and the total amount paid into the scheme could not be independently confirmed.
The situation prompted the Osun State Police Command to deploy officers to the area to prevent further unrest. The command’s spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said police became aware of the situation after officers arrived at the scene. He added that no formal complaint had been lodged with the police at the time of his comments.
The circumstances surrounding the closure of the warehouse and the whereabouts of the scheme’s operators remain unclear. However, affected customers continue to seek clarification over their payments.
