Crime
4 killed as armed robbers attack First Bank, Police Division in Abuja
Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command and their military counterparts on Thursday repelled an attack on a branch of First Bank Plc and a police divisional headquarters located in the Abaji Area Council.
The armed robbers were said to have attacked both the bank and police divisional headquarters simultaneously on Thursday.
The armed robbers numbering 15 were said to have attacked their targets with dynamites.
However, security forces who were mobilised to the scenes engaged the criminals in a fierce gun duel, leading to the death of three of the armed robbers.
A statement on Friday by the FCT command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, added that some of the robbers fled the scenes with injuries while three were arrested.
She identified those arrested as Usman (surname yet unknown), Nuhu Musa, and Muhammed Aminu.
Adeh added that a yet-to-be-identified suspect was set ablaze by a mob at the scene after being neutralised by the security forces.
The statement read, “In swift response to an armed robbery incident at First Bank Plc in Abaji on June 13, 2024, at about 5pm, the FCT police, led by the commissioner of police, CP Benneth Igweh, himself, in a combined operation with the military, mobilised to scene and repelled the attack simultaneously carried out on both Abaji Divisional Police headquarters and First Bank Plc in Abaji by a group of 15 armed men who attacked with dynamites in attempt to rob the bank.
“The security forces engaged the armed robbers in an intense gun duel, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet wounds, as the security forces succeeded in apprehending three suspects, namely, Usman (surname yet unknown), who was reported to be the gang leader, Nuhu Musa, 41 ‘m’ of Kogi State; and Muhammed Aminu, 25 ‘m’ of Abaji, with grave degrees of bullet injuries, while a yet-to-be-identified suspect was set ablaze by an irate mob at the scene after being neutralised by the security forces.”
She noted that a police officer who was hit by a bullet during the operation was confirmed dead at the hospital where he was rushed to.
Adeh said, “One police operative and the gang leader hit by a bullet during the gun duel, were rushed to the hospital, and the doctor on duty confirmed them dead, while others are still receiving treatment.
“While a search operation is ongoing to apprehend fleeing suspects with bullet injuries, the commissioner of police FCT lauds the effectiveness of the combined operation and reaffirms the command’s unflinching commitment to ensuring that FCT remains inhabitable for criminals, noting that the safety of the residents of FCT is non-negotiable.”
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The Violent Crime Response Unit of the Anambra State Police Command has uncovered and destroyed an armoury belonging to suspected separatist gunmen at Owerre-Ezukala in Orumba South Local Government Area.
The operation, led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Orebe Chidubem Matthew, followed intelligence obtained from a member of the gang currently in police custody.
In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the police disclosed that the camp had previously been dislodged by a Joint Task Force on security operations. However, some members of the gang who escaped during the earlier raid reportedly regrouped and attempted to resume operations.
According to the statement, items recovered from the armoury include one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with about 2,000 rounds of live chain ammunition, two fabricated rocket launchers with 25 propellers, 10 locally-made Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), one locally-made Beretta pistol, two pump-action guns, three hand grenades, 10 rounds of K2 live ammunition, one gas cylinder, and one black Ecolac box.
“Recall that the camp was earlier destroyed by a Joint Security Team. Before the confession by the suspect in custody, intelligence had been received over time on how some escaped gang members were attempting to regroup. However, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit resisted and dismantled the camp following a gun duel with the unrepentant members,” the statement read.
The police further stated that some of the armed suspects fled the scene with varying degrees of bullet injuries sustained during the exchange of gunfire.
Further investigations revealed that the suspect in custody confessed to involvement in several violent attacks across Anambra State, including attacks on police facilities, the killing of security personnel comprising police, military, and civil defence officers, attacks on government facilities, and the murder of security operatives on stop-and-search duties on various roads in the state.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, noted that with the establishment of the Violent Crime Response Unit, operatives of the command are now better positioned and more motivated to sustain offensive operations against criminal elements threatening the peace and security of the state.
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