*Obaseki: Foodstuffs, others were reserve to mitigate eventualities

*CSO’s kick

A middle-aged woman was on Saturday shot when looters broke into Edo State government warehouse on Medical Stores Road, Benin City where Covid-19 emergency food, palliatives materials and medical supplies were kept after using wooden plank to prise mental bars at the facility.

Shocking video footage that emerged on Saturday morning, revealed that the yet-to be identified wounded victim, was taken by a Morley of youths to hospital for medical attention while tempers flare.

She was reported to have been hit by a stray bullet on her leg while attempting to scale the fence and enter the warehouse while others who were stocked inside the warehouse quickly bolted away.

Residents of the area said that they were shocked on Saturday morning to discover that the facility dubbed — Edo State essential Drugs/Edo State Medical stores Complex has been breached by looters.

One Mr. Asabor told our Correspondent that they began suspicion arose when they saw hundreds of people besieged his the facility despite the presence of over 20 combined team of armed security personnel including soldiers on Saturday morning.

He said afterwards, some persons in defiance of the order from “the security asking everyone to leave, started entering the warehouse and began to loot noodles, bags of rice and other foodstuffs”.

Few hours after the breached warehouse, Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki in a statement through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the “materials and medical supplies, served as a strategic reserve to mitigate eventualities in the State”.

He revealed that upon receipt of relief materials, there has been an ongoing process of distribution for the past seven months to the vulnerable and poor population to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in the State.

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Explaining that the vandalised warehouse stored some strategic medical assets, he said the items looted include vaccines, high-end equipment and other supplies.

He noted that the government has distributed most of the palliative materials sent to the state and what was stored at the warehouse, which has now been breached in Medical Stores Road, was strategic to mitigate eventualities.

According to him, “It is unfortunate that critical medical supplies, including vaccines meant for children, were vandalised, which is most condemnable.

“The other warehouses for food supplies in Edo State are empty as the relief materials that were earlier housed in them have all been distributed.

“In the analysis of the trend of coronavirus pandemic by scientists across the globe, studies have shown that there was going to be a second wave of the pandemic. This has been proven to be true in most parts of Europe, where there has since been a second round of shutdown, with its attendant economic implications.

“With this and other possible eventualities, it is only wise for government to have a strategic reserve,” he said.

He added that it was important to note that in the past few weeks, the government has been able to fall back on this strategic reserve in response to the plight of people displaced by flooding in parts of Etsako Central, Etsako East and Esan South East Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State.

But some Benin-based Civil society members who have put the unfortunate incident on the spotlight via social Media on Saturday, condemned the burglary that occurred in the warehouse.

While Comrade Osaro Culture Iyamu, accused individuals in Government of hoarding the food, Mr. Albert Obazee, a grassroots politician who monitored the exercise, sounded appealed to Nigerian youths to rally against acts of economic sabotage by subversive elements against the State in the interest of peace.

According to Osaro, “In view of the information, a call has been put across to the relevant authority to prevail on the security operatives guiding the said place to allow our people have access to their palliatives. Meanwhile, we have also asked that other palliatives locations should be open for our people”, he said.

The former Spokesman of Edo Civil Society Organizations (EDOCSO), also condemned the allege invasion and criticised the State Governments for being economical with the truth about the manner the Covid-19 emergency food palliatives was handled.

“This is the palliatives kept in a warehouse on Medical Stores Road by the state government. As a civil society group called by the government to monitor the distribution of the COVID-19 palliatives to the vulnerable in the society, we were only taken to the warehouse on Textile Mill road.

“We never knew there was another hidden one on Medical Stores Road.

“Where is government sincerity and transparency in all of these?”, he quarried.

In the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19, Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, had inspected Medical Stores, housing drugs Medical items from the Federal, Pharmaceutical Companies and other donor Organisations.

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