A viral video has shown some residents of Bayelsa State invading a warehouse in the Kpansia area of Yenagoa, the state capital, to loot foodstuffs, including rice and garri.

However, the Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA) in a statement, condemned the incident, describing it as an “unwarranted invasion”.

The agency said warehouse was privately-owned and that the incident “occurred almost an hour after the Director-General, Walamam Igrubia, alongside some BYSEMA personnel, left the warehouse premises”.

The agency explained that during the 2022 flood in the state, it used the warehouse to store food items. It however said the food was no longer fit for consumption, and a “responsible, caring government like ours will not give Bayelsans such items as palliatives”.

The statement reads partly: “As part of preparations for an impending flood this year, the DG visited the premises, and in his presence, remnants of food items, notably rice and garri that were no longer fit for consumption, were cleared from the warehouse and placed outside for disposal the next day.

“The remnants, which were swept from the floor and packed in disused bags, were less than 10 bags of rice and garri and with some broken cans of oil.”

The agency said the looted items were not fresh food palliatives and were not hoarded by the state government.