Osun food scam: Angry customers loot warehouse as operators vanish

Customers of a discounted food scheme in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, have resorted to looting the warehouse of the operators after the facility was closed and the operators became unreachable. Footage captured by Daily Trust on Tuesday showed residents storming the Global Food Initiative warehouse, carting away bags of rice, groundnut oil, and other items.

The crowd had been gathering outside the warehouse for hours, demanding either the food items they had paid for or refunds. The situation erupted a day after hundreds of customers converged on the premises, demanding the promised food items or reimbursement for their payments. These customers had prepaid for discounted food products such as 50kg bags of rice at N27,000, 25 litres of vegetable oil at N30,000, and a pack of spaghetti at N10,000.

The scheme had been operational for approximately three weeks, with customers required to pay in advance and return after seven days to collect their purchases. Some customers reportedly paid exorbitant amounts, with one woman disclosing she had paid N300,000 for 11 bags of rice, while another claimed to have spent N1.2 million for food intended for her stepdaughter's wedding.

The operators have gone missing, and the exact number of affected customers and the total amount collected remain unverified. The Osun State Police Command dispatched officers to the scene to prevent a potential outbreak of lawlessness. The police spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, stated that they became aware of the incident upon arriving at the location and that no formal report had been submitted at that time.