A group of residents, severely affected by hunger and deprivation, took matters into their own hands by storming a warehouse belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Located in Karimo, Phase 3 Region of the FCT, the warehouse became the target of looters on a Sunday morning.
The incident saw residents pillaging the warehouse, making away with foodstuffs and other essential items.
Inuwa Samuel, a resident who witnessed the event, recounted the ordeal, stating that the looting commenced around 7 am and continued for about two hours.
Samuel mentioned that the situation caused significant disruption, with residents from neighbouring areas joining in the looting frenzy.
“The situation has caused a gridlock on Gwagwa-Karmo road, that leads to Dei-Dei and Jabi axis, respectively,” he said, while further explaining that he left the scene with bruises.
Another witness, Augustine Okoh, detailed how the looters spared nothing, even breaking through protective barriers to access the warehouse’s contents.
He emphasized the severity of the situation, highlighting that looters grabbed anything they deemed useful.
This isn’t the first time the NEMA warehouse fell victim to such raids. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the warehouse experienced a similar fate, with grain bags and pumping machines stolen from the premises.
Following the looting spree at the NEMA warehouse, the group of assailants headed towards the Idu Industrial Estate, targeting both government and private warehouses in the vicinity.
Despite the escalation of the situation, security forces were reportedly deployed to the area to quell the unrest. Josephine Adeh, the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, confirmed the incident, assuring that the situation was brought under control.
