Mr. Rabiu Olalekan and Mr. Hakeem Tiamiyu: merchants of expired biscuits

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit ( Taskforce ) has paraded two suspects for repackaging expired digestive biscuits.

The suspects are Mr. Rabiu Olalekan and Mr. Hakeem Tiamiyu. They were paraded at the taskforce office in Alausa Ikeja.

The Chairman, Taskforce, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi,  while parading the suspects warned members of the public to be wary of re-packaged expired digestive biscuits selling in all markets across Lagos.

Egbeyemi disclosed that the suspects were arrested for re – packaging and selling expired digestive biscuits to members of the public around Mosafejo market in Oshodi, Lagos

He said one of his Police Officers arrested a lady, Bimbo Oyewole at Oshodi under bridge while she was cleaning off the expired date boldly written on a pack of a digestive biscuit.

He said the lady who was arrested took the taskforce officials to where she bought the expired digestive biscuit at N1,900 per pack from one Mr. Rabiu Olalekan and Mr. Hakeem Tiamiyu.

Olalekan, whose address as at time of arrest was C135 Bere – Mapo,  Ibadan in Oyo State confessed to have been doing,with Mr. Hakeem Tiamiyu who lives at No 26, Oremeji Street, Ikotun – Egbe, Lagos, the business of re-packaging expired digestive biscuits and selling them to members of the public at a cheaper rate 

These suspects claimed that they bought hundreds of packs of digestive biscuits before government demolished Mosafejo market and that since they could not sell them before they expired, they decided to change the expiry dates and re-package them for the consumption of members of the public.

According to Olalekan, they normally sell a pack of re – packaged digestive biscuit at the rate of N1,900 as against the non -expired one sold at N4,500 per pack.

Both men claimed that poverty pushed them to the business and that they distributed these re-packaged expired biscuits to various agents across Lagos State.