- NEMA Warehouse in Abuja was attacked, looted on March 3, 2024, adding to numerous attacks on food stuff across the country
- MAN, Chambers of Commerce expressed concern, predicted negative economic backlash
- POS called on urgent government intention to curb the crisis
On Sunday, March 3, 2024, some residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja raided and plundered a warehouse belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria (NEMA).
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that the warehouse was raided on Sunday morning, following an information that some hundreds of bags and cartons of food items were warehoused in the building.
The warehouse which is located in Karimo, Phase 3 Region of the FCT, Abuja hosted the hoodlums for less than one hour after which it was emptied.
It was also gathered that the residents carted away foodstuffs and other items in the warehouse.
Though the Personnel of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja were later deployed to the area to disperse the looters and secure the building, it was like medicine after death as almost all the food items in the building have been looted before their arrival.
The spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident to the newsmen on Sunday.
This is coming two days after a similar incident occurred in Kaduna state on Friday.
Hoodlums attacked a BUA truck loaded with cartons of spaghetti at the Dogarawa axis of the Zaria-Kano expressway.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that the incident, which occurred around 3:15 pm, saw the culprits making off with the entire cargo of spaghetti.
According to an eyewitness, the driver had parked the truck by the roadside to observe prayers when the hoodlums struck, looting all the cartons of spaghetti before fleeing the scene.
Recall also that on Thursday, February 22, 2024, suspected hoodlums also hijacked trailers loaded with foodstuff in the Suleja Area of Niger State.
As the raid by these suspected hoodlums continued, soldiers opened fire on them to disperse them from the scene.
An eyewitness, Alhassan Abdullahi, told news men that many trailers coming from Abuja and heading for Kaduna were blocked by the hoodlums who burnt tyres on the road.
According to him, many bags of food stuffs, especially rice, were stolen before soldiers arrived the scene.
According Abdullahi, “it took intervention of soldiers who arrived the scene and started firing gun shots in the air to scare the hoodlums away. But even with that, many of them went away with bags of rice and cartons of spaghetti and other food items.
“We learnt commercial motorcycle riders are also planning a protest. They would have done it since yesterday but we didn’t know what stopped them.”
However, the growing case of hijacking and looting food of stuff either in a warehouse or on transit comes on the heels of the growing nationwide hardship that has triggered protests in different parts of the country.
WITHIN NIGERIA findings showed that since the removal of subsidy by the present government of President Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023, it has been a difficult time for the entire citizenry.
Economic implications of the wanton looting
However, worried by the escalating rate of the looting, destruction and hijacking food-laden trucks conveying goods across the federation, the organized private sector, OPS has expressed concern over the ugly development, warning that it can lead to a shutdown of industries across the country.
In separate press interviews on Monday, some members of the OPS, gave the warning just as miscreants attacked trucks conveying building materials and spaghetti in Ogun and Kaduna states.
Speaking with the newsmen, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Idahosa, said the current economic hardship was ushering in anarchy.
According to him, the attacks can worsen the problems of companies and lead to their shutdown.
According to Idahosa, “the chickens are coming home to roost. The government has asked the people to be patient, but the stomach cannot be patient even if the head wants to be patient. In a state of anomy, it will lead to a state of anarchy.
“There is no distinction between public and private in a state of anarchy. When the government allows chaos to happen, chaos does not know whether it is government or private property. When it rains, it doesn’t rain only on government or private property.
“The looters are not concerned whether it is government or private property. They just want food, anything that looks like food, they will go after it. This is why concerned observers have asked the government to look for concrete measures to reduce the state of hunger in the land.’’
The LCCI president further said a concerted effort is required to stop the criminality.
“We have gone beyond the phase of speculation; we are now in the phase of reality. In the last two or three days, these kinds of events have been escalating. It will require concerted efforts to stop the trend,’’ he advised.
Speaking further, Idahosa, noted that many of the major manufacturing firms in the country recorded significant losses in the 2023 financial year and might choose to shut down their businesses and lay off workers in light of the looting of their wares.
He noted that “all of them are reporting losses in billions. The smaller companies are also having their own losses. It just doesn’t make it to the front pages of the newspapers.
‘’Last week, we went to meet the CEO (chief executive officer) of one of the largest food and beverage companies in Nigeria and he said that some of his colleagues, who are foreigners, said they were totally confused that they did not know what to do; that they were frustrated. He was just sharing their frustration with us.
“With the present situation, we are not just looking at price hikes alone. They may decide to close down the business and fire all the people.”
On his part, the Chairman of Kwara/Kogi Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji AbdulRahman Bioku, in an interview with newsmen attributed the looting of food items and other goods to the situation in the country.
Bioku who is the Chief Executive of Bioraj Group of companies, said “People are hungry and angry. Manufacturers have laid off many workers because their companies have closed down. The few workers on the job are on half salary.
“The palliative the government gives out cannot solve their problems and that is what caused the looting.
“The government should solve the problem of transportation by providing hundreds of long buses for each state while it should give priority to the issue of provision of raw materials to the manufacturers. It should also ensure security to the people that want to farm.’’
But the Executive Secretary of Abeokuta Chambers of Commerce, Alhaji AbdulRhaman Maku, condemned people looting trucks carrying food items belonging to companies. He urged the police to treat such people as criminals.
Maku urged the state governors who promised to distribute one form of food palliatives or the other to quickly do so.
He said reports of people looting trucks carrying foodstuffs were condemnable, adding that the actions were criminal and that the police should deal decisively with the suspects.
“We are all together in whatever is happening and no one should be hiding under this situation to destroy the businesses of others. It is totally unacceptable and the law enforcement agencies should waste no time to treat such people as criminals
“It will also be good for state governments that have promised one form of food palliatives or the other to make good their promises so that the unnecessary delay won’t give room to needless suspicion where people will take every warehouse as a place where the palliatives are kept and then go and loot the place or be eyeing any trucks that are carrying food items”.
More so, advising the Federal Government, the Publicity Secretary of the Anambra Chamber of Commerce, Chief Dennis Iberim, said, “They (the government) should look at policies that are currently impoverishing the people and review them in such a way that they would positively impact on the people. Many manufacturers have closed shop due to the high cost of production occasioned by power challenges.’’
On his part, the Head of Corporate Affairs of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Moshood Lawal said the Director-General, and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, recently met with the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to address the security of small and medium enterprises’ properties.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, expressed worry that the recent trend would significantly damage investors’ confidence.
Yusuf, who described the indiscriminate looting of private businesses as a function of a society that had descended into anarchy, called on the government to quickly address the issue before it gains currency on a national scale.
He said, “This kind of situation weakens investors’ confidence. This is degenerating into anarchy. Yes, there are challenges, but if criminal activity is seen as a normal response, then that is a major problem.
“We need to take some drastic steps to address these social issues, especially this high cost of living, whatever low-hanging fruits we can find will definitely help.’’
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