Tension has reportedly gripped Osogbo, the Osun State capital, following the alleged disappearance of a food company that attracted customers with heavily discounted prices, leaving some customers unable to collect goods they had already paid for.
The company, reportedly located around Odi-Olowo, opposite the NEPA office, was said to have been selling a 50-kilogramme bag of rice for between ₦20,000 and ₦30,000, significantly below prevailing market prices reportedly ranging between ₦60,000 and ₦70,000.
The company was also reportedly offering other food items, including Indomie noodles, vegetable oil, spaghetti and semovita, at prices described by customers as unusually low.
According to reports, customers were required to make advance payments and return after seven days to collect their orders.
The arrangement initially appeared to attract public confidence after some early customers reportedly received their goods, prompting more people from Osogbo and neighbouring communities to patronise the company.
However, trouble reportedly began on Monday when customers who returned to the premises to collect their goods allegedly found the shop locked and the operators nowhere to be found.
The development reportedly triggered anger and panic among affected customers, some of whom gathered at the premises demanding the return of their money.
Police officers were subsequently deployed to the area to maintain order as efforts were reportedly made to establish the whereabouts of the operators and determine the extent of the alleged financial losses.
The circumstances surrounding the company’s closure and the whereabouts of its operators remain unclear, while investigations are reportedly ongoing.
