Ekiti State raises alarm over looting of poisonous food items

The Government of Ekiti state has raised an alarm on Saturday that large quantities of poisonous items, mistaken for food yet to be distributed as Covid-19 palliatives, were looted in warehouses in Ado-Ekiti on Friday.

Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mr Akin Omole, said in a statement in Ado Ekiti that raising the alarm became expedient to prevent any harm that could happen to anyone who consumed the items. Also reportedly looted was the office of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) in Ado Ekiti.

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“Information at our disposal revealed that the Federal Government’s silos, the ADP warehouse and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) stores, all in Ado- Ekiti, were attacked by hoodlums under the guise of seeking Covid-19 palliatives. “We insist that Ekiti state currently has no Covid-19 palliative warehouse as all the palliatives had been distributed. “Unfortunately, the items carted away were Single Super Phosphate and NPK fertilisers, which they erroneously thought was “Gaari’’, cassava grains.

“The SEMA store too has only emergency supplies for disaster response. “Some people even made away with pre-fermented corns preserved for planting. All these items are poisonous and not fit for consumption. “We, therefore, appeal to our people not to consume these items because they can kill,’’ Omole warned. In a similar statement, Dr Olabode Adetoyi, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, confirmed the looting, warning that most of the items carted away contained chemically-treated seeds meant for planting.

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