Abuja Residents Loot NEMA Warehouse Over Hardship

VOICE AIR MEDIA, VAM News Update

Some residents have broken into a warehouse in Abuja, thought to belong to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and carted away food items.

NEMA stockpiles food items and other essentials for when it needs to provide emergency relief.

The incident occurred on Sunday in the Gwagwa area of the federal capital territory (FCT).

Nigerians have been battling spiralling inflation that has compounded the cost of living crisis in the country.

Daily Trust newspaper quoted Jaafar Aminu, a resident of the area, who said the looting of grains began from about 7:00 am and continued till 9:00 am.

Aminu said residents of Jiwa and Karmo, neighbouring areas of Gwagwa, participated in the looting of the warehouse.

He said the incident caused a 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 demonstrations 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.