Calm has been restored to parts of Birnin Kebbi, the Kebbi state capital after two days of looting of food items by large crowd of people.
On Saturday, angry and hungry inhabitants of the city descended on a parked truck undergoing repairs, fully loaded with rice and emptied the content.
The following day, thousands of people mobilised and broke into private stores housing rice and other assorted grains at Bayan-Kara area, carting away hundreds of bags of the items.
Our correspondent, who encountered one of the looters, reports that the man sustained injury on his left hand but said he was unperturbed because he was able to grab two bags of rice and sorghum which he took home for meal.
Abu Wanzan, as he is called, said, “Hunger and poverty pushed people to attack the stores where food is kept, we are also not happy about the faulty distribution method adopted in the distribution of the recent palliatives procured by government for the people of the state, many residents are yet to benefit.”
The presence of security operatives could not deter the looters as they were overwhelmed by the sheer multitude of the crowd.
Consequently, the police resorted to the use of canisters of teargas to disperse the looters and restore normality.
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