IT was a terrible Wednesday morning for residents of Ebute Ipakodo area of Ikorodu, in Lagos State, as many of them were injured in a bid to escape from robbers who invaded two banks in the community
No fewer than 10 people were reportedly injured in the early morning bank robbery, which residents of Ipakodo described as “ very successful.”
A female member of staff of one of the affected banks was reportedly sexually harassed by the robbers during an operation which lasted more than one hour.
The robbers defied the presence of policemen at a divisional police station situated in front of one of the banks, where the robbery took place.
Heavily armed robbers operated at two banks, where they reportedly escaped with huge amount of money through the waterways, after setting some vehicles on fire.
A branch of an old generation bank was mostly affected, as the robbers reportedly made away with a huge sum of money after attacking a nearby branch of a new generation bank.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the robbers, who came through the Ebute Ipakodo waterway jetty, gained access into the bank, after blowing up the security doors of the banks.
It was further gathered that the robbers, who shot sporadically to scare policemen away, barricaded the access road, while the robbery lasted.
An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, told the Nigerian Tribune that “there were about 15 of them and they were all young guys and a lady.”
He added that “they came around 9.00a.m. and were there for about two hours, shooting sporadically with nobody to come out from the police station in front of one of the banks.”
Another eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Tosin, said “I have never seen this kind of robbery before. You need to come and see how people abandoned their vehicles and ran away.”
Tosin added that “the robbers were very confident. There was nobody disturbing them; they had the time to set their operational vehicles on fire, before finally escaping through the waterway.”
The image maker in charge of of the state police command, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident, but claimed that the police engaged the robbers before they escaped through the waterway.
Nwosu said: “At about 8.30 a.m. today, some robbers, numbering 10, stormed two banks on Ipakodo Road and carted away unspecified amount of money.”
The Lagos police spokesperson added that “the armed bandits were engaged by policemen, who were mobilised to the scene, forcing them to escape through the Origin Jetty along Kosoko waterway.
Nwosu also added that “the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State police command, Kayode Aderanti, visited the scene, as well as the jetty, where the bandits escaped and later held a meeting with police leadership in Area N and managers and security officers of the banks in Ikorodu.
“Far-reaching decisions toward tackling the menace of these hoodlums were made, while intensive efforts towards rounding up these hoodlums are underway,” the Lagos police spokesperson added.
via tribuneonlineng.com
