Angry residents break into NEMA warehouse, loot food items

Angry residents break into NEMA warehouse, loot food items 

Some angry Abuja residents on Sunday broke into a warehouse belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and looted several food items for two hours.

The looting occurred in the Karimo, Phase 3 area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Nigerians have faced spiralling inflation that has compounded the cost of living in the country.

Spokesperson for the FCT Police command, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident.

She however said the situation had been brought under control with policemen deployed in the area to disperse the looters.

A report by Daily Trust quoted Jaafar Aminu, a resident of the area, who said the looting of grains began from about 7am to 9am.

Aminu said residents of Jiwa and Karmo, conterminous communities to Gwagwa, participated in the looting of the warehouse.

He said the incident caused gridlock in the area and he sustained injuries before eventually leaving the scene of the looting.

Before this incident, there have been protests over the rising cost of living in different parts of the country, that culminated in rallies by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) last week.

There have also been reports across the country of citizens looting trailers conveying food items.

Similar incidents occurred in 2020 when there was widespread looting of government warehouses across the country.

At the time, the relief items were meant to cushion the hardship occasioned by COVID-19.