Ogun state govt dismisses reports of residents dying after after eating rice

The Ogun state government has dismissed unfounded rumors claiming that some residents of the state dying after consuming a “deadly rice.”

A couple of voicenotes in circulation warned parents and relatives against allowing their children buy or consume rice. According to the messages, a foreign trader allegedly invoked the spirit of the ‘Ogun’ deity after two trucks of her rice were stolen and smuggled into Nigeria.

The voice notes claimed that the two trucks of rice were stolen from a neighboring country and smuggled into Nigeria through the Idiroko and Seme borders. Allegedly, the owner of the rice consulted Ogun worshippers in Ghana to lay curses on anyone who buys or consumes the stolen rice.

However, the Ogun State Government, through the Senior Special Adviser, Kayode Akinmade, confirmed there was no evidence of anyone dying after eating rice. 

He stated, “No hospital report in that regard,” affirming that the rumours were baseless.