TheCable

Muhammad Bello, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), has asked security operatives to arrest and prosecute those who invaded a warehouse where COVID-19 palliatives were kept.

A mob had invaded the warehouse located in Gwagwalada area council around 9 am on Monday, carting away bags of grains, cartons of noodles and other food items.

Speaking at an emergency meeting with leaders of various security agencies in Abuja on Monday, the minister, asked the culprits to return the stolen items immediately.

He also said there would be heavy deployments of security operatives to safeguard factories and warehouses at Idu industrial area.

“What is going on is was no longer #EndSARS protest but broad day stealing by hoodlums,” he said.

Ramatu Aliyu, FCT minister of state, who was also present at the meeting, said no nation could survive without a food reserve.

She urged council chairmen and monarchs to reach out to opinion moulders and unite the people against looters.

Warehouses containing COVID-19 palliatives have been raided in at least seven states, including Lagos, where the looting began last week.

Some Nigerians accused state governors of hoarding the supplies in an attempt to divert them.

But the states have denied the allegation. Some governors said they were storing the palliatives in case of a second wave of the coronavirus while others said they had started distributing them before they were looted.