Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State has disclosed that the protest that rocked Minna, the Niger State capital, was due to the activities of food speculators mopping up foodstuffs from various local markets across the state.
Bago made this known while addressing newsmen following a food price hike protest by some residents in Minna.
He explained that a group of hoodlums who acted on intelligence attempted to hijack trucks loaded with food items that were heading to Abuja for storage.
According to him: “In the early hours of Monday, some unidentified hoodlums mobilised women and youths after their morning prayers to block some food trucks passing through Minna with an intent to cart away the foodstuffs. However, with the timely intervention of security agencies, their plans were thwarted.
“Similar attempts were made on other trucks conveying food supplies through the State at Mokwa and Lapai local government areas of the State before security agencies stepped in and diverted the trucks.”
Bago also blamed the hike in prices of foodstuff on food speculators who stormed local markets to mop up foodstuff and conveyed them out of the state to other states and neighbouring countries.
He said further: “I have decided to issue an executive order effective today to stop food speculators from invading our local markets to mop up our farm produce to other states and neighbouring countries, thereby making things difficult for people of the state and Nigeria as a whole.
“By this order, any truck found in any rural market coming to load food supplies in bulk will be confiscated, and the produce will be auctioned out immediately.”
The governor further stated that some arrests have been made over the protest that occurred this morning. He, however, declined to disclose the number of arrests.
He then assured that the security agencies were on top of the matter and that those arrested would be arranged in court after the completion of a preliminary investigation in the state.
OsunDailyNG recalls that some protesters in the early hours of Monday blocked the Kpakungu Roundabout in Minna to protest the current economic hardship being faced in the state.
