By Uche Amunike
A total of 7 people including two policemen have been confirmed dead in what is considered a coordinated attack on different commercial Banks in the Edo State bank robbery that took place in the commercial city of Uromi, Esan North-West Local Government Area of Edo State, Thursday.
In reaction, the Police Public Relations Officer in the Edo State Police Command, Bello Kontongs stated that a total of four banks, as well as the police station were attacked by the armed robbers.
His words: ‘Zenith, UBA, First Bank, Union Bank, and the Police Division are confirmed attacked while two police personnel and five civilians lost their lives. For now.’
A staff of one of the banks affected in the Edo State bank robbery stated that the robbers came prepared in their attack of the bank.
Hear him: ‘The robbers came over-prepared. We had the full complement of staff when they stormed our bank and forced their way into the banking hall using dynamites. They were shooting everywhere, destroyed vehicles in the compound and they succeeded in getting into our strong room and went away with the cash available there. Thank God no life was lost in our bank’.
According to an eyewitness who is resident in the state, the armed robbers attacked three commercial banks simultaneously as they laid siege all the way from the popular Angle 90 junction in Uromi, all the way to Tazona Junction, with heavy gunfire and explosives.
‘A metallic/silver Toyota Lexus 350 Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) was fully loaded with cash, which the armed robbers hurriedly escaped with, while moving towards Ubiaja old road and shooting sporadically to scare passersby and prevent any challenge from security operatives’, he recounted.
One of the policemen from Mopol 60, Auchi who was confirmed dead during the robbery incident was on guard duty in Zenith Bank, while the second one fell to their bullets when the Police Division was attacked. The other five civilians who were confirmed dead all died from stray bullets during the robbery operation.
Security, has however been reinforced in the area even as the police have begun tracking down the armed robbers.
The amount of money carted away by the armed robbers remained unspecified even though their vehicle was said to have been filled up with millions of naira, they shot sporadically making people run helter skelter in the sprawling community which is the hometown of the late chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tony Anenih.
Recall that in October 2010, a similar Edo State bank robbery occurred in Ekpoma, headquarters of the same Esan West Local Government Area, when a first generation bank was attacked leaving in its trail, four dead people, precisely three policemen on guard duty at the bank and a roadside vulcanizer who was hit by a stray bullet.
There was a shootout between the robbers and the Police as the police beat retreat. They however succeeded in fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money before police re-enforcement returned.
