Osun food scam: Angry Customers loot warehouse as operators vanish

Angry customers in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, have looted the warehouse of the Global Food Initiative after the facility was closed and its operators became unreachable. Videos captured by Daily Trust on Tuesday showed residents removing bags of rice, kegs of groundnut oil, and other food items from the warehouse. The crowd which had gathered outside the warehouse for hours suddenly broke away, carrying away the food supplies.

This occurred a day after hundreds of customers had gathered at the site, demanding either their paid-for food items or refunds. The scheme, which had been operational for about three weeks, offered discounted food items at rates of ₦27,000 for a 50kg bag of rice, ₦30,000 for 25 litres of vegetable oil, and ₦10,000 for a pack of spaghetti.

Customers were required to pay in advance and return after seven days to collect their purchases. Some customers reportedly paid hundreds of thousands of naira for the food, with one woman claiming she had spent ₦300,000 on 11 bags of rice, while another customer stated she had paid ₦1.2 million for wedding-related food items. The operators have since become unreachable, and the exact number of affected customers and the total amount collected have not been independently verified.

The Osun State Police Command confirmed deploying officers to the area to maintain law and order, as the situation remained tense. Spokesperson Abiodun Ojelabi stated that the police were aware of the incident after arriving on the scene and that no formal report had been lodged at the time. "We are monitoring the situation to avoid crisis," he affirmed.