Palpable tension gripped Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, after a Ponzi-style food investment scheme was rumoured to have crashed.
It was learnt that the scheme, named Global Food Initiative, had been operating in the state since early in the week of August 2026, aiming to subsidise the prices of food items for its subscribers, reports The Nation.
A casual staff member of the scheme, who pleaded anonymity, explained that “subscribers will pay for their desired food items that have been subsidised by half of their initial price at the open market.”
“Subscribers have to pay for the desired items, and they will come for the items paid for after eight days of investment for pickup.”
Meanwhile, the investment took another turn on Monday after subscribers thronged to their outlet in the Odi-Olowo area of Osogbo around 6:30am, after a presenter tagged the initiative as fraudulent on a private radio station.
The development raised apprehension as aggressive subscribers mobbed staff of the initiative, demanding either their money or foodstuffs.
One of the subscribers, named Rukayat, said, “I had invested N1 million in the previous week and I collected foodstuffs 8 days after, but I made another N2 million investment which will be due on Wednesday. Now we heard that it has crashed. They must provide my money.”
Also, Adewale Adegbite said, “I want to invest this morning, but I came here to see people breaking into their store violently in a bid to cart away the foodstuffs in their stock. I thank God that I did not do it.”
When our correspondent visited the area, a mammoth crowd stood at the front of the outlet, with six police patrol vans stationed there to maintain law and order.
When contacted, the Osun State Police Command, through its spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed that it deployed officers to the scene after suspecting a riot might erupt at the outlet.
He said, “There have not been any reports, but to maintain peace and order, the police have to move into the scene to calm the situation and also to avoid property damage. It was there, and then we began to hear of the transaction between the company and the victims, who have been collecting people’s money for subsidised rice.
“People will have to pay in advance and collect their goods after one week. We only went because we had information that it was becoming riotous. We are still waiting for someone who will give proper information.”
