Food Company Shuts Down In Osogbo After Collecting Millions From Customers - The Guardian Nigeria News

Residents of Osogbo and its environs in Osun State, have regretted patronising a suspected fraudulent company that has suddenly shut down operations after allegedly collecting money running into millions of naira from unsuspecting members of the public for cheap food items.

Some days ago, the firm that identified itself as “Global Food Initiative”, had opened at Odi-Olowo area of Osogbo, the state capital and was distributing fliers that contained unusually cheap prices of food items such as bags of rice, cooking oil, spaghetti and semovita, and beverages.

The information on a flier circulated around strategic locations in Osogbo about fortnight ago and sighted by our correspondent, reads, “Global Food Initiative is a temporal programme designed to reduce the prices of food for the consumers. Our customers are allowed to collect their food items 7 days from the day he/she paid for the food items.

The reason why our customers will stay for 7 days before collecting their food items is to avoid crowd in our shop, and to make sure that the food items booked by the customers are available before the collection.

Visit our physical shop at Odi-Olowo, opposite NEPA Office, Omokayode Shopping Complex, Osogbo, Osun State for your cheaper prices of food items.

The food items we have for now are: bags of semovita, cartons of noodles, bags of rice, gallons of groundnut oil, and so on at cheaper rates.”

With images of the food items, the flier also showcased prices of the items it claimed to have been in stock: “Super pack (Income/120gramm) N7,000; 50kg bag of rice – N27,000; 5 liters of Golden Terra groundnut oil – N8,000; 25 liters of Kings Oil – N30,000; 10kg of Golden Penny Seo vita — N8,000; packet of golden penny spaghetti — N10,000; carton of Terra Gold Maggi — N12,00p.”

Two phone numbers were also pasted on the flier of which the firm asked members of the public to contact “for more information.”

The Guardian correspondent gathered that immediately the flier was in circulation, many residents, including business men and women who deal in wholesale sales of food items, had stormed the area and booked for their choice food items according to the condition set by the firm.

After about a week that the firm launched it programme, some first time patronisers were said to have received the items they purchased, a development that further attracted hundreds of of other interested residents to participate with their huge amounts of money to book fof the unusually low prices of food items.

Several customers who were said to have paid in advance for packages containing items such as rice, cooking oil, spaghetti and semovita, had informed their relations, most of whom also joined in the booking.

Some customers allegedly paid large sums in advance, expecting to receive their food packages that were lower in cost than the prevailing market rates.

However, trouble stated for those who patronised the firm after they waited for seven days without hearing from the firm.

They could not stomach their worry again, and besieged the office address the firm had disclosed in the flier. The affected residents, in their hundreds, could not control their tears when they met the supposed company emptied and shut down.

When our correspondent visited the area on Monday, many affected customers were in pain over what they termed as the “disappearance” of the food company.

Although the amounts allegedly collected have not been independently verified by our correspondent, many victims claimed they paid millions of naira for the cheap food item venture.

Reports indicate that the operators of the business and the phone numbers they gave out are currently unreachable, fueling deeper concerns among victims about the fate of their investments.

Security personnel, including police officers reportedly deployed with six trucks, were present at the scene to maintain order as protesters expressed their frustration and called on relevant authorities to investigate the matter and ensure their money is refunded.