Hundreds of #EndSARS protesters on Saturday stormed a warehouse at the Health Centre Road, World Bank Housing Estate, Umuahia and allegedly carted away bags of rice and cartons of indomie noddles starched in the warehouse.

The warehouse said to belong to a top politician and Senator and being used by the state government to store some items, was also vandalized. However, in a swift reaction to the incident, the Abia State Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi Kalu said the content of the warehouse were bags of fertilizer.

Describing the breakage of the place to hunt for palliatives as ”a task in futility”, the Information Commissioner maintained that no palliatives of rice or indomie was kept there. But a witness told our Correspondent that some protesters were rushing out the warehouse with 25 kg of bags of rice and cartons of indomie noddles.


Said Okiyi Kalu, “We received reports that some palliative hunters mobilized and broke into a private warehouse located in Umuahia in search of palliatives purportedly stored there by Abia State Government.

“Only those who are not well informed will embark on such fruitless search as the state government shared all palliative materials to the people during and after the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic including the items procured by the state government and donations received from well meaning individuals and corporate entities. Eight rounds of palliatives were shared in Abia through religious organizations, traditional authorities, state geriatric services agency, specialized groups and local government authorities.

“We do not have any grain of rice or food item left in our warehouse as at today. That is why the government went to the market to procure the palliatives distributed to some victims of the #EndSARS protest yesterday, as can be confirmed from the video we shared.

“It is unfortunate that a private warehouse was attacked this morning with bags of fertilizer and rice seedlings carted away by unidentified hoodlums.


“Our best hope is that those who carted away the bags of fertilizers and rice seedlings at least plant the seeds and use the fertilizers to nurture them to yield food for our people. Otherwise, they should immediately return everything to the warehouse without fear of consequences.

“It is good to acknowledge the actions of people living in a particular house near the location of the private warehouse who promptly turned back an individual that carted”.

The commissioner used the opportunity to announced the relaxation of the curfew imposed by the state government to contain the protests in the state, saying that

from tomorrow, (today) Sunday, “our people are free to go out from 6am to 6pm and return to their homes to allow security agents mop up and dislodge the hoodlums that have invaded our state”.


His word, “As soon as it is safe to do so, Abia State Government will remove the whole movement restrictions but we must all be committed to protecting our neighborhoods and places of business”.

fergie001:
kalu61....So the Palliatives dey your side and you said nothing?

kalu61:
I love my life. Protest don end. Na hoodlums de parad now

fergie001:

Better keep my own Palliatives....Are a you a "Hoodlums"? NO.

Keep my own, shikena.