Osogbo Food Scam: Hundreds Protest As Store Vanishes After Collecting Payments

Hundreds of customers and traders have protested in Osogbo, Osun State, after a foodstuff store at Odi Olowo, opposite the NEPA office, allegedly vanished after collecting payments for heavily discounted food items.

The store had reportedly operated for months, attracting customers with food items sold at discounts of up to 80 per cent.

A 50kg bag of rice, which reportedly sold for between ₦60,000 and ₦70,000, was offered for as low as ₦20,000 to ₦30,000.

A carton of Indomie noodles reportedly sold for about ₦14,000 elsewhere was also offered for between ₦5,000 and ₦7,000, depending on the quantity ordered.

Other food items, including semovita, cooking oil, rice, beans and spaghetti, were reportedly sold at discounts of at least 50 per cent.

However, customers were required to wait seven days before collecting their orders.

The latest sales campaign was promoted extensively on social media, attracting hundreds of customers from across Osun State who placed orders and made payments ahead of the scheduled collection day.

But when customers arrived at the store for collection today, they reportedly found the premises empty.

Attempts to reach the operators by telephone were also unsuccessful, triggering panic among the customers.

The development subsequently prompted police intervention, with affected customers asking the police to investigate the incident and help recover their money.

The incident has also attracted attention because the store is located in Odi Olowo, the same area where the controversial Hero’s Merchant, also known as Hero’s Capital, reportedly operated years ago before customers were left stranded over similar food-related transactions.

The latest development has therefore raised fresh concerns among residents and customers over heavily discounted food sales involving advance payments and delayed collection.

A similar incident was reported in Auchi, Edo State, last year.

In that case, an operator reportedly sold bags of rice for about ₦20,000, compared with a prevailing price of around ₦60,000, claiming that the rice was being supplied as part of a federal government subsidy and palliative programme.

The operator reportedly sold more than 100 bags of rice on some days before disappearing after collecting money from over 1,000 people.

The victims later reportedly discovered that they had collectively paid between ₦20 million and ₦30 million.

The latest Osogbo incident has now prompted affected customers to seek police intervention as investigations into the disappearance of the store operators and the payments collected continue.