Posted by By John Ighodaro on
AN armed robbery gang in the early hours of yesterday attacked the Oyigbo branch of a new generation bank in Rivers state, killed a policeman and attempted to escape with about nine hundred and forty thousand naira.
PORT HARCOURT - AN armed robbery gang in the early hours of yesterday attacked the Oyigbo branch of a new generation bank in Rivers state, killed a policeman and attempted to escape with about nine hundred and forty thousand naira.
The robbers had stormed the bank around 2:00am yesterday, with sophisticated weapons including an AK47 rifle.
According to police reports, there was an exchange of gunfire between the robbers and the police on guard and in the confrontation, a policeman was gunned down.
Three of the suspected robbers (names withheld) were however apprehended by the police.
During the confrontation, the police overpowered the robbers and recovered two vehicles, 44 empty rifle magazines and almost one million naira in cash.
While parading the three armed robbery suspects, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Samuel Adetuyi told newsmen that "the suspects, in their bid to rob the bank, killed a police Corporal who was on guard at the bank, just as they stole almost one million naira cash from the bank."
Continuing the state Commissioner of Police said "the gang, having raided the bank, engaged in a wild shoot-out with the police.
"However, men of the command swooped on the robbers and arrested three of them. The others, however escaped.
One of the paraded suspects is a student of the University of Port Harcourt while one claimed to have just returned form Libya.
The police Commissioner called on members of the public to assist the police with information in their bid to track down the fleeing robbery suspects.