By - Residents break into the warehouse of a foodstuffs scheme in Odi-Olowo, Osogbo, a day after customers accused the operation of running a Ponzi scheme
- Police deploy to the scene but struggle to hold back the crowd, eventually firing gunshots that fail to stop the looting
- Looters wielding axes, knives and other weapons continue carting away rice, vegetable oil and other items, with multiple people reported injured
What began as customer outrage over a suspected food scam in Osogbo boiled over into a full-scale warehouse looting on Tuesday, with residents defying heavy rain, armed weapons and eventually police gunfire to strip the facility of its stock.
AfrikTimes gathered that Tuesday’s chaos traces directly back to Monday, when a crowd of angry customers first besieged the same Odi-Olowo warehouse after reports spread that the food scheme behind the below-market prices was, in fact, a Ponzi arrangement. Many of those customers say they paid in advance for discounted rice, cooking oil and other items roughly a week earlier and never received what they were promised.
By Tuesday afternoon, that anger had shifted from complaint to action. Despite a heavy downpour, residents descended on the warehouse and began removing bags of rice, containers of vegetable oil and other stock, seemingly undeterred by the weather or the risk involved.
Police Overwhelmed, Then Open Fire
Officers deployed to the scene early on found themselves unable to contain the size of the crowd, according to AfrikTimes’ correspondent monitoring the situation. By around 5:30pm, armed police at the location had resorted to firing gunshots in an attempt to scatter the looters and halt further raiding of the warehouse.
Even that measure failed to stop the crowd. Looting continued despite the heavy police presence, with some in the crowd seen brandishing axes, knives and other weapons as they pushed forward. As of the time of filing, multiple people had been injured in the unrest, and security agencies remained on the ground attempting to bring the situation under control.
This is a developing story, and AfrikTimes will provide updates as further details emerge.
