A 71-year-old returnee from abroad, identified as Pa Gabriel Ogundipe,
is believed to be among those slain when about 50 armed robbers attacked
four banks in Owo, Ondo State, penultimate Friday.
There were also seven policemen,
including a woman, two bankers and a bank security official killed by the
dare-devil bandits.
The casualties on the part of the
armed robbers were seven of the men of the underworld who were killed in the
battle with the police while seven others were arrested.
About N9.3million was, according to
Ondo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Isaac Eke, among the items recovered from
the bandits in an encounter with the police as they fled Owo after the
operation.
Gargantuan arms and ammunition were
also recovered from them.
Pa Ogundipe, said to have recently
returned to his native Owo after sojourning abroad for 25 years, was reportedly
hit by stray bullet from the robbers in their escape bid.
It was gathered that the old man met his death at Rainbow Junction
near the Federal Medical Center, FMC, in the town.
He reportedly attempted to look for
a safe place to hide during the commotion that followed the sporadic shooting
by the robbers while they were trying to get away.
But before he could find a safe
place, one of the bullets allegedly released by one of the fleeing robbers hit
him and he gave up the ghost.
Other victims whose identities could
be confirmed include two bankers, Abiodun Olasemojo and Ademola Oyedokun, and a
bank security officer, Femi Ayo.
A police source said N9.3million was
recovered from the felled robbers while other escaped with several millions of
Naira.
It was speculated that the robbers
could have been the same who robbed banks in Ikare area of the state last
December paying a return visit to the state via Owo.
Numbering 50, the hoodlums came in
several vehicles including SUVs and shot sporadically, killing the seven
policemen and civilians in the process.
Speaking on the incident, the state
Police Commissioner, Eke, explained that the suspects were arrested by a team
of policemen drawn from Ondo, Edo and military personnel who engaged the
robbers in gun duel.
According to Eke “while the Ondo
State policemen were pursuing the suspects, the Edo State policemen helped to
block them”.
Arms and ammunition recovered from
the suspected robbers include 12,000 rounds of ammunition , six assault rifles,
17 AK rifles, three riot gunners, one revolver pistol, one chief revolver
pistol, 11 dynamites and 142 magazines.
Other arms recovered include two sub
machine guns, six Beretta rifles, two scorpion guns, three large rifles, three
dane guns, Tarakov rifle and three pump action guns.
Eke confirmed the recovery of the
N9.3million cash as well as police uniforms, 33 cannisters of tear gas, police
steel helmets and 13 vehicles alledgedly used for the operation from the
suspected armed robbers.
He gave the names of the bank raided
as Ecobank, Wema Bank, First Bank and Skye Bank in Owo.
The police commissioner said that
the robbers destroyed two police stations and three armored personnel carriers,
APCs, during the operation.
Policemen, led by Deputy
Commissioner of Police Operations in Ondo State, according to him, “put up a
spirited counter attack leading to the death of seven of the armed robbers and
the recovery of the arms and ammunition”.
He warned criminals who aid those
who come from neighbouring states to relocate as the police command was
resolute to root them out of the state.
In another development, 16 suspected
militants have been shot dead in the coastal area of the state.
Seven other militants were arrested
in Ajapa in Ese Odo local government area of Ondo State
A cache of weapons were reportedly
recovered from them by security operatives.
The police commissioner said the
suspected militants were arrested with the help of Gallery Security Service and
military men.
Eke said 76 suspected cultists and
one kidnap suspect were equally arrested by police detectives in the state.
The police chief said that the
efforts of the Special Anti- Cultism Squad had started yielding fruits with a
view to guaranteeing peace in the state.
He described the cult members
arrested by the squad as “die-hard cultists”, adding that they will soon be
prosecuted.
0 comments:
Post a Comment