Hundreds of residents of Odi-Olowo, Osogbo, Osun State, have raised concerns over an alleged fraudulent food scheme after a company that collected payments from customers suddenly shut down its warehouse.
The company with no name reportedly attracted residents by offering food items, including rice, cooking oil, spaghetti and semovita, at prices significantly lower than prevailing market rates.
The scheme reportedly gained popularity in the area over the past few months, with several customers making advance payments for food packages and other promised benefits.
However, customers were thrown into panic on Monday after they reportedly discovered that the company’s warehouse had been abruptly closed.
The development prompted hundreds of aggrieved customers to converge on the premises, where they reportedly demanded refunds of the money they had paid.
Some customers alleged that they had invested substantial amounts in the scheme but were yet to receive the food items or recover their payments.
The sudden disappearance of the operators has also fuelled suspicions of fraud among the affected customers, although the allegations have not been independently established.
Witnesses alleged that the company had collected substantial sums from customers before its operations were abruptly discontinued.
Speaking with a LAGOS EYE NEWS correspondent, Owolabi Kafayat said efforts by customers to contact the operators had reportedly been unsuccessful, heightening concerns over the whereabouts of the company’s management and the funds paid into the scheme.
Kafayat said, “The people you are seeing gathered here and I invested our money as savings to get a bag of rice and vegetable oil at cheaper rates. Rice ₦30,000 and Vegetable Oil at #25,000 But we discovered that on the day we were supposed to receive our goods, there were no calls or SMS from them.
“When we got here last Friday, the whole place was locked. We then became afraid that perhaps another scam was taking place in Osogbo.
“Governor Adeleke should please intervene and help us recover our money if they are no longer selling the goods.”
LAGOS EYE NEWS also gathered on Monday that security personnel, including police officers, were reportedly deployed to the scene to maintain order as the aggrieved customers gathered at the closed premises.
The circumstances surrounding the company’s closure and the fate of the customers’ funds remain unclear, while affected residents are calling for an investigation and the recovery of their money.
There was no immediate official statement from the company regarding the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
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