One feared dead in Edo palliative warehouse looting

One person is feared dead as hoodlums looted  the Edo Pharmaceutical Company’s warehouse in Benin following #EndSARS protest.

Various items such as cartoons of pastry, LPG gas cylinders, bags of rice, gallons of vegetables oil and vehicle batteries among other valuables were looted.

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The hoodlums were seen trekking long distances with the items looted from the warehouse.

It was gathered that the victim  who was struggling in the midst of the hoodlums to gain entry into the warehouse fell down and was stepped on and in the process died of exhaustion.

Unconfirmed reports said the victim scaled the wall of the warehouse and entered through the ceiling and then fell from the  ceiling while coming out and landed on his head.

It was gathered that the youths stormed the warehouse located on Medical Stores road in the morning to cart away food items including Covid-19 palliatives branded with the inscription ‘CACOVID’.

It was learnt that the security agencies on ground after shooting for about five minutes, apparently  acting on orders,  stopped shooting, when they saw the magnitude of the crowd and watched helplessly as hoodlums were carted away items from the warehouse.

One of the  youths who spoke to journalists accused the state government of hoarding food items and other Covid-19 palliatives meant for the people.

He  said most of the items looted were already in bad shape having either expired or bad for consumption particularly the bags of rice.

The looting is coming few days after hoodlums attacked and looted the Nigeria Custom Benin warehouse and burnt other facilities including the NDLEA and Nigeria Correctional facilities in the state, with 1,818 inmates set free.

Effort reach the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor was unsuccessful as calls put across to access to his phones were not answered.