Osogbo Food Bonanza: Angry Customers Loot Warehouse After Operators Vanish

The Osogbo food scheme controversy has taken a dramatic turn, with angry customers and other residents breaking into the warehouse of Global Food Initiative and carting away food items after the operators allegedly disappeared with customers’ advance payments.

Newstrends.ng had earlier reported how customers who paid for discounted food items besieged the company’s Odi-Olowo outlet in Osogbo, Osun State, after the operators failed to open for business or respond to calls.

The situation escalated on Tuesday when more residents returned to the premises, hoping to either collect the food items they had paid for or obtain an explanation from the operators.

According to reports, the crowd remained at the facility for hours before some people eventually forced their way into the warehouse and began removing food items.

The items taken reportedly included bags of rice, noodles, groundnut oil, spaghetti, semovita and other food commodities.

Residents from nearby communities were also said to have joined the rush, with some carrying away 50kg bags of rice, large containers of vegetable oil and other food products.

The looting reportedly continued despite heavy rainfall and the presence of security personnel deployed to maintain order.

Police officers were said to have fired shots into the air in an attempt to disperse the crowd, although the intervention initially failed to stop the looting.

There were also reports that some people who had not invested in the scheme took advantage of the confusion to remove food items from the warehouse.

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The situation reportedly became more chaotic when some alleged hoodlums threatened customers who had collected food items, with reports that weapons including axes and cutlasses were used to force some people to surrender what they had taken.

The development came barely a day after customers gathered at the same premises following the disappearance of the operators.

Global Food Initiative had attracted residents by offering food commodities at prices substantially below prevailing market rates, with customers required to pay in advance and return later to collect their purchases.

One customer, Mistura, reportedly said she paid ₦300,000 for 11 bags of rice at ₦27,000 per bag, while another customer, Olamide, said she paid ₦1.2 million for food items intended for her stepdaughter’s forthcoming wedding.

Other customers have also alleged that they paid millions of naira into the scheme. However, the various amounts cited by individual customers should not be interpreted as a confirmed total loss, as no official figure for the money collected by the company has been established.

The attraction for many customers was the unusually low prices. The company reportedly offered a 50kg bag of rice for ₦27,000, while a 25-litre container of vegetable oil was reportedly sold for ₦30,000.

The sudden disappearance of the operators triggered panic among customers who had already made payments but had yet to receive their goods.

Some affected customers also alleged that warnings about the scheme had been broadcast on a local radio programme before the operators disappeared.

According to the allegations, the warning prompted some customers to rush to the premises before their scheduled collection dates.

There were also claims that the operators had brought additional food items to the premises but failed to open the outlet because of concerns about their safety.

Those claims have not been independently established, while the operators themselves have not publicly explained what happened to the business, the food stocks or the money reportedly collected from customers.

The controversy has also generated calls for residents to avoid turning the incident into an ethnic dispute, with some affected customers stressing that people from different backgrounds were among those who participated in the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Osun State Police Command has yet to announce a confirmed total amount allegedly lost by customers or publicly disclose the whereabouts of the operators.

The warehouse looting has further complicated efforts to establish the actual scale of the alleged losses, identify the rightful owners of the food items removed from the premises and determine what happened to customers’ advance payments.

For the affected customers, the immediate concern remains recovering either the money paid into the food scheme or the food items they purchased, while security authorities are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the operators and the subsequent looting.

As of the latest reports, Global Food Initiative operators remained unreachable, while the full circumstances surrounding the collapse of the Osogbo food scheme remained unclear.

Osogbo Food Bonanza: Angry Customers Loot Warehouse After Operators Vanish

Trump Denies Offering Iran Sanctions Relief, Release of Frozen Funds

US President Donald Trump has denied reports that he offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for concrete concessions on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Trump rejected the reports on Monday, describing them as false after Axios reported, citing unnamed US officials, that his administration was willing to provide sanctions relief and release Iranian funds as part of a potential deal.

“This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

CNN separately reported, also citing an unidentified US official, that Trump was prepared to offer similar concessions if Iran demonstrated concrete progress on the nuclear issue.

The conflicting reports emerged as US and Iranian officials engaged separately with mediators in a renewed diplomatic effort aimed at ending the seven-month conflict between Washington and Tehran.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran is prepared to negotiate over its nuclear programme and other issues but would not accept what he described as pressure or coercion.

Iran maintains that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and insists it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also said that diplomacy remains the route to resolving the conflict, while Tehran has linked any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to the fulfilment of conditions under discussion with mediators.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a major issue in the negotiations because it is a crucial route for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Disruptions linked to the conflict have contributed to higher energy prices and increased concerns about global supplies.

Trump had rejected an earlier Iranian proposal concerning the reopening of the waterway, while Araghchi said Tehran was awaiting a formal response through mediators.

The latest disagreement over the reported sanctions offer adds uncertainty to the diplomatic efforts, with Washington and Tehran yet to announce a final agreement on the nuclear programme or the broader conflict.

Trump Denies Offering Iran Sanctions Relief, Release of Frozen Funds

Federal Workers Back N500 Petrol Demand, Threaten Three-Day Warning Strike

Federal workers have backed the demand by organised labour for a reduction in the pump price of petrol to N500 per litre, warning that they will join a proposed three-day warning strike if the Federal Government fails to address their concerns.

The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) announced its position in a communiqué issued on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after an online general meeting of federal workers held on Sunday.

The workers said they unanimously supported the call by the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) for the Federal Government to reduce the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to N500 per litre.

The JNPSNC had given the Federal Government until September 30, 2026, to respond to its demands, which include a reduction in petrol prices, an immediate wage award and a review of salaries and allowances across the public service.

The Federal Workers Forum said its members were prepared to participate in the proposed three-day warning strike if the government failed to act.

The group also called for any reduction in petrol prices to be reflected in the prices of kerosene, diesel and cooking gas, arguing that high energy costs were contributing to the wider cost-of-living crisis.

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The workers said the current price of petrol was placing additional pressure on households through higher transportation, food and other living costs.

They also backed labour’s demand for an immediate Wage Award, which they said should be converted into a reasonable Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to provide continuing relief to workers.

The forum argued that workers’ incomes had been eroded by rising prices and called for urgent measures to restore their purchasing power.

Beyond the immediate wage relief, organised public-sector workers are seeking the commencement of negotiations for a new National Minimum Wage ahead of January 2027.

The JNPSNC has proposed a minimum monthly salary of N500,000 for an officer on Grade Level 01, Step 1 under the proposed 2027 salary structure.

The council also wants salaries and allowances across federal, state and local government services to be harmonised and periodically reviewed in line with inflation.

The Federal Workers Forum had previously called for an upward review of the current N70,000 minimum wage, saying rising food, fuel, transportation and housing costs had reduced its purchasing power.

The workers also criticised reliance on food palliatives as a response to the economic hardship, arguing that a reduction in petrol prices would have a wider impact because transportation and the cost of moving goods are closely linked to fuel costs.

The forum urged Nigerians to support organised labour’s campaign for lower petrol prices and said federal workers should mobilise for any industrial action approved by labour leadership.

The group further backed proposals for greater use of Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity, including making crude oil available to local refineries in naira and expanding national petroleum storage capacity.

It said such measures could strengthen energy security, create economic value and reduce the country’s exposure to fluctuations in international oil prices.

The latest position by federal workers adds pressure to an already tense labour-government relationship as the September 30 deadline approaches.

However, the workers’ statement does not mean that a nationwide strike has already commenced. Their commitment is to participate in the proposed three-day warning strike if the labour leadership calls the action and the government fails to address the outstanding demands.

The Federal Workers Forum also expressed hope that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would address the concerns in his forthcoming Independence Day broadcast.

The government’s response to the workers’ demands, particularly on petrol prices, wage relief and negotiations for a new minimum wage, is expected to determine the next steps by organised labour.

Federal Workers Back N500 Petrol Demand, Threaten Three-Day Warning Strike