Crime

Police foil attempted bank robbery in Umuahia

Published

4 years ago

July 14, 2022

A crack team of anti-robbery police squad from the Abia Command Thursday foiled an alleged attempt to rob an old generation bank in Umuahia.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident to newsmen.
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Ogbonna said that the command got the information that there was an attempt to rob a bank situated on Bank Road in the capital city.

He said that the command “immediately dispatched an anti-robbery squad to the scene and they succeeded in foiling the robbery attempt”.

Eye-witness account said that the operation was carried out by a four-member gang.
It was learnt that the armed men, on sighting the policemen, began to shoot sporadically as they made attempt to escape.

They were said to have abandoned their red-colour Corolla car, with Reg. No: LND 126 HL, and escaped in another car reportedly snatched from an unsuspecting motorist.

Narrating the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a cosmetics dealer on Okpara Avenue, Mr Yusuf Garba, said the operation happened at a time he was still displaying his wares between 9 am and 10 am.

Garba said that the incident caused a serious stampede residents and traders in the area, including passersby, “ran helter skelter” for their lives.

He said that at the end of the gun duel between the police and robbery suspects, three persons, including a policeman at the bank, sustained bullet wounds.

Another eyewitness and a dairy seller in the area, Mr Iheanacho Agubuche, identified one of his co-dairy seller and a passersby as those hit by stray bullets.

Agubuche said that the victims were immediately rushed to the nearby Federal Medical Centre for medical attention.
“We are praying that they would survive from the bullet wounds,” he said.

Meanwhile, residents of the capital city, who were jolted by the incident, have appealed to Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and Commissioner of Police, Janeth Agbede, to beef up security in the state.

They complained that violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping and banditry, had become a daily occurence in different parts of the state.

NAN

Crime

Anambra Police Burst Gunmen Armoury in Orumba

Published

3 days ago

May 7, 2026

Everydaynewsngr

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.