Bayelsa residents storm warehouse, loot food items stored away since 2022

Some residents of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on Monday, stormed a warehouse and carted away food items donated to victims of last year’s flood that ravaged some communities in the state.

The food materials which included bags of rice, garri, cartons of noodles and bottled water, were carted away by hungry residents who wondered why in the face of hunger, the items were stored away.

According to Daily Independent, the incident occurred at about 7:45 pm on Sunday as some of the hungry invaders stormed the warehouse located in the Kpansia area along the Isaac Boro Expressway with pick-up vans and private vehicles to move the foodstuffs away, most of which had already spoilt.

The newspaper reported that as the looting was going on, men of the state government’s security outfit called Doo Akpo, mobilised to the scene and dispersed the looters.

It was gathered that because of the commotion, there were several wasted grains of rice, garri and noodles which littered the premises.

The Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA), while reacting to the invasion in a statement on Monday by Director-General of BYSEMA, Mr Walamam Igrubia, said the incident happened at 7:45 pm on Sunday after he and some personnel of the agency had left the warehouse premises.

He claimed that the food items were remnants that were swept and gathered in the warehouse premises by the agency for disposal as they were no longer fit for human consumption.

The statement said, “During the 2022 flood in the state, the agency used the warehouse to store food items.

“As part of preparations for an impending flood this year, the DG visited the premises, and in his presence, remnants of food items, notably rice and garri that were no longer fit for consumption, were cleared from the warehouse and placed outside for disposal the next day.

“The remnants, which were swept from the floor and packed in disused bags, were less than 10 bags of rice and garri and with some broken cans of oil.

“For emphasis, BYSEMA states that these items were not fresh food palliatives and were not hoarded by the Agency or the state government.

“Importantly, these items are unfit for human consumption and a responsible, caring government like ours will not give Bayelsans such items as palliatives.

“In essence, there were really no food items to loot. So, those who carted away the unfit items are please advised in their own interest not to consume them.

“The BYSEMA equally condemned the action of the yet-to-be-identified persons that invaded the warehouse premises, and the attempt to politicise the incident by opposition elements in the state, who seek to score cheap political points from the ugly occurrence.”