Hundreds of Osogbo Residents Panic After Cheap Food Vendor Suddenly Shuts Down

 

OSOGBO, Osun State — Scores of residents in Osogbo were thrown into panic and frustration on Monday morning after a company that sold essential food items at unusually low prices abruptly closed its operations, leaving many customers who had prepaid for packages without their goods or refunds.

The business, located in the Odi-Olowo area of the Osun State capital (near the NEPA office), had drawn large crowds in recent months by offering rice, cooking oil, spaghetti, and semovita at steep discounts—sometimes as low as 50% or more off market rates. Customers were typically required to pay in advance and return about a week later to collect their orders.

On Monday, when many arrived to pick up their packages, they found the shop shut and the operators nowhere to be found. Phone numbers linked to the business went unanswered. Videos circulating on social media show crowds of people gathered at the site amid traffic of motorcycles, cars, and onlookers, with some residents expressing anger and distress over the sudden disappearance.

Witnesses and affected residents alleged that the operators collected substantial sums—described by some as “millions”—before vanishing. One local observer noted that the unusually low prices had encouraged both personal purchases and bulk orders for resale, amplifying the losses when the business closed. Police officers were reportedly deployed to the area to maintain order as tensions rose and some customers called for protests demanding their money back.

Police Response

When contacted by journalists, the spokesperson for the Osun State Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, stated that the matter had not been officially reported to the command at the time of inquiry.

As of Monday afternoon, no formal investigation had been publicly confirmed by the police. Affected residents are being urged to file official complaints at the nearest police station to enable authorities to open a case file, track the operators, and pursue recovery of the funds.

Details about the company’s ownership, exact amounts collected, and the operators’ whereabouts remained unclear. Similar low-price food schemes have previously collapsed in the same Odi-Olowo area and elsewhere in Nigeria, leaving customers out of pocket.

Residents and online commentators have expressed frustration at the pattern of such incidents, urging greater caution with advance payments for heavily discounted goods.