Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: COVID-19 Palliatives

  • Abuja Warehouse Looting: NSCDC Dismisses Officer who Carts Away Palliatives

    Abuja Warehouse Looting: NSCDC Dismisses Officer who Carts Away Palliatives

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has dismissed a Corps Assistant, Illiya Ibrahim of the Gwagwalada Division Abuja, who was caught in a viral video carting away some items that were stored in a warehouse as Covid-19 palliatives.

    The NSCDC Tuesday night disclosed this In a statement issued by the Media Assistant to the Commandant General NSCDC,
    Gbenga Ekunola, and made available to journalists.

    According to Ekunola, the NSCDC had punished the officer identified as Illiya Ibrahim by dismissing him from the service in relation to the looting of Covid-19 palliatives discovered in a warehouse in Gwagwalada, Abuja on Monday.

    READ ALSO: 

    Abuja Palliative Warehouse: Three Women Feared Dead in Looting Spree Stampede

    The warehouse containing COVID-19 palliatives was discovered by residents around the area who stormed the facility belonging to the Gwagwalada Council Area to loot the items.

    The dismissed officer was seen to have joined the looting spree as the video trending online clearly reveals him carrying away in his hands some items to the cheers of invading crowd.

    Ekunola said in the statement that: “The Commandant General Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu has approved the recommendation of the Junior Staff Disciplinary Committee for the dismissal of Illiya Ibrahim of the Gwagwalada Division for joining hoodlums in looting Covid-19 palliatives discovered in a warehouse in Gwagwalada, Abuja. The recommendation was given after the officer was charged under the public service rule which is related to unbecoming conduct of officers.

    READ ALSO:

    MSMEs Survival Fund: FG Pays N30,000 to 333,000 Artisans

    “This disciplinary measure was taken after series of investigations and deliberations by the junior disciplinary committee and recommendations were made to the management,” Ekunola said.

    The Media Assistant also disclosed that the NSCDC Commandant is appreciative of officers and men of the Corps including members of the public for providing useful information that has continued to assist the Corps in identifying unfit individuals within the ranks for appropriate action.

  • Abuja Palliative Warehouse: Three Women Feared Dead in Looting Spree Stampede

    Abuja Palliative Warehouse: Three Women Feared Dead in Looting Spree Stampede

    Three women have been feared dead, as a result of stampede while several others suffered suffocation during a looting spree that occurred at a huge warehouse located in the Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) Abuja.

    Reports had it that some who were suffocating were helped out of the building and being assisted with sachets of water.

    The looting spree was the climax of restiveness which started at about 8:43am when some youths gathered within the routes to the warehouse.

    The restiveness heightened when the youths, who were later joined by commercial motorcyclists, gathered in hundreds, shouting and expressing anger over the sufferings in the land. The motorcyclists might have fueled the raid as they came with stories of looting and raid incidents from other parts of the country, the Nation Newspaper reported.

    READ ALSO:

    Advocacy Group Threatens NBC with Lawsuit Over “Illegal” Sanction of Arise, AIT, Channels TVs

    At about 9am when personnel of the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps (NCDSC), the Nigeria Police and the Brigade of Guards of the Nigeria Army, who arrived the venue early, blocking the roads with their vehicles, could no longer control the crowd and being were overpowered, the youths and women forced their ways into the warehouse, broke the doors and part of the wall and began looting all items inside the building, including COVID -19 palliatives.

    The warehouse, said to have been built within five months by the Gwagwalada Area Council for the purpose of storing the COVID-19 palliatives was further damaged when some hoodlums climbed fences from adjacent compounds near WAEC office while others fought their ways through the back of Fidelity Bank premises, breaking parts of the roofs to gain entry.

    The crowd of looters grew even larger as youths from the surburbs of Angwa Dodo, Wazobia Parks, Tipper garrage, Passo and surrounding areas of Gwagwalada markets also stormed the warehouse of COVID-19 palliatives.

    According to videos circulating on the internet, the crowd of looters were heard saying: “This is our money, these people are wicked to have hidden these products and refused to share them.”

    READ ALSO:

    It’ll Cost N1tr to Fix Lagos after Arson, Destruction – Sanwo-Olu

    In a report by The Nation items looted were listed as bags of rice, cartoons of indomie noodles, spagetti, macaroni, bags of fertilisers, Indorama products, brand new motor bikes, grinding machines, bags of salt, bags of Sugar, and cartoons of soaps.

    However, by 11.23am, some reinforcements of security operatives forced their ways into the massive warehouse, which had COVID 19 written on it and shut it down without the use of tear gas or fire any shots, which could lead to stampede and more deaths.

  • COVID-19 Palliatives Warehouse Break-In: Government is Wicked – Maza Maza Resident

    COVID-19 Palliatives Warehouse Break-In: Government is Wicked – Maza Maza Resident

    A resident of Monkey Village, Maza maza, in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos State has accused the government of concealing CACOVID COVID-19 palliatives, which was meant to be distributed to cushion the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on the vulnerable poor resident of the state in a warehouse.

    The Leadership reported that Abiodun, who was among many residents of the area that stormed the warehouse to cart away food items said: “These Lagos State Government people are wicked, we are dying of hunger, they kept this food stuff here since May, waiting for everything to die down and they will go and sell and pocket the money. We were begging them and they refused, so when they left we broke into the warehouse. We can’t kill ourselves.”

    There was stampede in the warehouse as the residents scrambled for the food items which were labeled ‘CACOVID, NOT FOR SALE,’ including mini bags of rice, macaroni, spaghetti, salt, garri, sugar and cartons of noodles.

    In a swift reaction, the Lagos State government condemned the vandalism of the warehouse at Maza Maza housing the food palliative packages donated to the state government by the Private Sector Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID) group.

    According to the state’s acting commissioner of Agriculture, Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on September 22nd 2020 formally taken receipt of the food palliatives from the CACOVID team meant for distribution to the indigent.

    The state government noted that the warehouse in question was not state-owned and its usage was made available to the CACOVID group, adding that the state government had been allowed to commence re-bagging of food items allotted to it from the quantities meant for South- West states.

    The commissioner said the re-bagging was being done to account for each beneficiary receipt, as was required and monitored by the CACOVID team, Leadership newspaper reported.