Robbers Attack Bank In Ondo, Killing Two Policemen

Akure – Two policemen were on Thursday killed in a robbery attack on a branch of Skye Bank in Ifon in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo state.

Stray bullets of the armed robbers were also said to have killed another man at a hospital very close to the bank.

The bandits numbering 15 reportedly invaded the bank around 3pm when its workers had already stopped transactions with customers.

INDEPENDENT learnt that the heavily armed hoodlums came in three vehicles from a neighboring state and blew the bank’s bullet-proof door with dynamite.

Sources said some policemen attached to the bank engaged the robbers but two of them lost their lives in the encounter.

The robbers were said to have later escaped and went away with an unspecified amount of money.

A source told our correspondent that the robbers packed all the money in the bank’s vault on entering into the bank while some of them engaged the policemen in a gun duel outside the bank.

“The armed robbers came in three vehicles and they were up to 15 in number. They were heavily armed.

“When they got to the bank they could not enter easily because the workers had stopped attending to customers. So they had to blow up the door with dynamite.

“For several minutes, they were shooting everywhere. Two of the policemen that engaged them were killed. But none of the robbers was killed during the shooting,” the source said.

It was gathered that the bandits ran away when more policemen deployed to the scene engaged them.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident and said men from the command were on trail of the hoodlums.

Joseph said the Commissioner of Police, Gbenga Adeyanju, went to the scene immediately after receiving the information.

He commiserated with the families of the slain officers, saying the command would soon release their identities.

“It is unfortunate that we lost two of our men in the incident. But we are still on the trail of the robbers.

“They went to the bank with sophisticated weapons and in spite of that, our men still engaged them.

“The CP himself led the team from Akure to the scene. It was when they knew that we were closing in on them that they ran away with bullets wounds.

“We shall get them soonest because our men are still on their trail,” the police spokesperson said.

Assuring the people of the state that the command was on top the security situation, Joseph urged them to go about their lawful businesses without fear.