Date: 2020-10-24

A crowd of people on Friday broke into the warehouse where palliatives donated by the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) were stored at the Cargo Shed Terminal of the Ilorin International Airport in Kwara State.

The residents forced the gates open when they invaded the storage facility in the afternoon while the security officials manning the place watched helplessly.

They succeeded in emptying the food items at the warehouse but began to run to safety following the arrival of more security personnel deployed at the scene.

In its reaction, the state government described the action of the residents as unfortunate and condemnable.

The Commissioner for Communications in Kwara, Harriet Afolabi-Oshatimehin, explained in a statement that the palliatives were meant for the poor.

She insisted that the action of the residents does not reflect the good nature of the people of the state.

According to Afolabi-Oshatimehin, CACOVID and the state government had since distributed majority of the palliatives to the identified vulnerable households in 15 of the 16 local government areas of the state.

"The remaining palliatives in the terminal, which the hoodlums preyed on until chased away by security agencies, were meant for special vulnerable groups and just one local government where names of the beneficiaries have just been delivered and officials have started distributing when the street urchins breached the wall of the facility," she said.

The commissioner added, "it would be recalled that the CACOVID and the state government had since September 23 flagged off the distribution of the palliatives.

"But it was meant for specific households, as dictated by CACOVID, and so names had to be properly generated to allow for transparent and orderly distribution."

She stated that some of those involved in the act have been arrested and would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Afolabi-Oshatimehin warned that the government would not tolerate anyone hiding under any guise to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere in the state.

She also commended the security agencies for acting with restraint in the face of provocation by the hoodlums.