Edo Police arrest two for looting palliative rice

The Edo State Police Command said two suspects have been arrested in connection with the looted palliative rice stored in a parked truck at Urora community near Benin City.

The Edo State Police Commissioner, Funsho Adegboye, disclosed this at a press briefing in Benin City.

Recall that on August 1, the day of the commencement of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest, a viral video of residents looting rice from a truck parked at a warehouse at Urora quarters in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area (LGA) surfaced on several social media platforms.

In the 40-second video, the residents were seen and heard saying that the warehouse allegedly belonged to the state government.

Most of the residents were seen carrying more than one bag of 10kg rice.

The development led to an altercation between the Edo State Government and the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the ownership of the rice. While the state government denied ownership of the rice, it blamed the viral video on the APC.

On its part, the APC said the viral video had allegedly exposed Governor Godwin Obaseki’s deliberate plan to deprive Edo people of accessing the different palliative measures put in place by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

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Tenebe, who spoke at a press briefing in Benin City, alleged that there are also reports that a substantial part of the rice is being sold in markets by a prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) market woman leader.

“If Edo people were ever in doubt, the video that emerged on social media today, where an abandoned trailer load of repackaged Federal Government rice with Edo State Government inscription was discovered by Urora residents, has exposed Obaseki’s deliberate plan to deprive Edo people of accessing the different palliative measures.

“We have intelligence of several warehouses in the state, hoarding rice and other grains meant for Edo people. There are reports also that a substantial part of the rice is being sold in markets by a prominent PDP market woman leader,” he stated.

The APC chairman added that the offence of the governor amounted to economic sabotage, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must take note of.

However, several hours after accusations and counter-accusations between the Edo State Government and the APC over the ownership of the rice, the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) finally claimed ownership of the rice.

The state chairman of CAN, Irekpono Omoike, in a statement, said the vandalised residence where bags of rice were looted by hoodlums in Urora is owned by a vendor contracted by the association’s implementation committee for the Christian Feeding Programme.