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Thousands of hoodlums and residents of three local government areas of Ogun state on Monday hijacked distribution of palliatives and carted away the food items.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that officials of the state government had moved to distribute the palliatives housed at Ijebu – Ode, Sagamu and Ifo Local Government Areas of the state.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the decision was preemptive measures to avoid looters from breaking into the warehouses, the illicit act which has been going on in different parts of the country.
It was gathered that officials who gathered at Ijebu – Ode, Sagamu and Ifo, to distribute the food items, were overpowered by the hoodlums who stormed the venues and took away branded bags of rice, noodles and other items.
Eyewitness said atmosphere became rowdy and chaotic, as hoodlums took over the process, leaving the officials and security agents.
Similar scenario played out at Sagamu where the food items were stored at the NYSC Camp.
A video that went viral showed looters carting away food items from a building believed to owned by a religious body.
A youth leader in Sagamu, Kayode Segun Okeowo told our correspondent that “there was nothing like looting in Sagamu.”
According to him, youths in the LG had got the wind of a plot to storm the palliatives warehouse for possible looting, but the government officials were alerted to avoid break down of law and order.
Okeowo said the government later bowed to pressure for distribution of the food items.
Speaking with the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi said the command was aware of the development, but exercised restraint to avoid stampede.
He said “We are aware. But we are trying to be diplomatic about it because we don’t want cause any stampede. If we are to go to the place to effect arrest, it is going to cause more problems than we can solve. It is not that we are not aware.
“We are equally aware that the Local Government Chairmen directed that those palliatives should be shared.
“And in the course of sharing it, people became unruly and rowdy.
“What we heard was that they were distributing it and in process, people became unruly.
“Our men were there, monitoring the process to make sure that they prevent breakdown of law and order.”
