Posted by From EMMANUEL ADEYEMI, Lokoja on
Hell was let loose on Tuesday at Idah, Kogi State when six people were killed during a shoot out between the police and robbers, who came in three vehicles to rob two old generation banks situated beside each other.
Hell was let loose on Tuesday at Idah, Kogi State when six people were killed during a shoot out between the police and robbers, who came in three vehicles to rob two old generation banks situated beside each other.
Daily Sun gathered that it was the gallant effort of the Divisional Police Officer in Idah, Mr. Abdulkareem Yusuf, who immediately mobilized his men to confront the dare devil that foiled the efforts of the robbers to gain entry into the vaults of the two banks.
According to the Kogi State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ibe Aghanya, who spoke to Daily Sun over the issue, the robbers numbering 10 came into the bank premises at about 10.00 am with a white Audi 80 saloon car, a black Mercedes 190, and a Golf saloon car with registration number DH 753 BN and shot their way into the two banks which were situated a stone throw to each other, robbing simultaneously. But the quick intervention of the police stalled the efforts of the robbers to gain entry into the banks' vaults.
The police boss confirmed that contrary to some newspapers' report that three people were killed, six people were actually killed in the robbery operation. He mentioned those killed as, one Police Inspector, Benjamin Ajene, who was at the bank premises as at the time of operation, one police constable, who sustained serious injuries from gunshot and later died, and three members of the public, including a lady, who was hit by stray bullets and one of the robbers, who was shot dead while in military uniform.
The superior firepower of the police, Aghanya said, made the robbers to flee after over 15 minutes of hot fire exchange. They, however, abandoned the Golf saloon car being one of the cars used for the operation which police later discovered was snatched from somebody in Warri earlier that day.
Also recovered from the men of the underworld were two AK 47 rifles and two magazines, each containing fifty rounds of ammunition, and over N600,000 cash which the robbers had collected from the bank customers.