Posted by By CHRIS OCHIAMA, CHRIS ANUCHA and MATTHEW DIKE on
An attempt by daredevil robbers to raid the Dopemu branch of a first generation bank in Lagos yesterday ended in blood and tears with three of the gang members shot dead by the police.
An attempt by daredevil robbers to raid the Dopemu branch of a first generation bank in Lagos yesterday ended in blood and tears with three of the gang members shot dead by the police.
The gallant policemen also arrested six of the bandits, including a hefty man identified as the leader, just as an unspecified amount of money carted from the bank located on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and a large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered.
The feat by the Lagos police looked like a farewell shot for the outgoing Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, who was recently promoted Assistant Inspector General of Police. The policemen were, however, complemented by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress in dislodging the robbers.
The robbers, though unsuccessful in their strike, still left anguish and tears in their wake, as a young man in a building under construction across the road, watching the robbery operation, was shot dead by the bandits.
Three other passersby, including a female secondary school student, also suffered gunshot wounds and are lying critically ill in hospital.
During the operation, one of the OPC members, a mobile policeman, and a soldier, who was in the bank to withdraw money, suffered bullet wounds.
The robbers stormed the bank in three vehicles, including a grey Mazda 626 with registration number PJ 122 KJA and a black Golf car marked EL 336 LSR and shot sporadically to scare people away before gaining access to the vault.
Anti-robbery policemen, who got a tip-off, arrived the scene, and engaged the robbers in a gun duel that lasted for over two hours before the bandits were overpowered.
Some of the robbers escaped but the dead and arrested ones were not lucky. One of them, believed to be the gang leader, was fished out from where he hid in a water tank after discarding his blood-stained shirt and pump action rifle. Inside the Golf car abandoned by the robbers was a Ghana-Must-Go bag filled with magazines of ammunition.
Daily Sun gathered that it was the Area ‘G' commander, Mr. Mobolaji Adesanya, who led the operation.
Recovered from the robbers were four AK 47, one LAR and one pump action rifles.
An elated Abubakar, the Lagos CP, who will soon take charge of Zone 2, commended his men for their gallantry and members of the public for giving information that led to the foiling of the robbery.
The commissioner directed the Area ‘G' commander to submit names of the gallant policemen that took part in the operation to be forwarded to Abuja for recognition and reward.
Briefing newsmen on the command's exploits in the last one month, the police commissioner revealed that a total of 29 armed robbers were arrested, while nine were killed during encounters with the police.
He said 592 various calibres of ammunition and 16 arms were recovered within the period under review.
According to him, 1,212 suspects were arrested during raids, while 687 motorcycles were impounded for operating beyond the time limit set by the state government.