Ondo: Robbery Slows Down Commercial Activities

9 years ago

Ondo: Robbery Slows Down Commercial Activities

A scene of one of the attacked places

By James Sowole in Akureâ€¨
Commercial activities in Ikare Akoko headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government of Ondo State were paralysed on Wednesday following Tuesday’s robbery in the town, in which the armed robbers, who attacked three banks in the town, killed about 15 persons.
The number of casualty as at Wednesday had increased to 18, which included seven policemen.
The three commercial banks situated along the Jubilee road in the town were attacked and destroyed by the bandits, who shot sporadically at the banks’ premises before gaining access to the buildings and left with an undisclosed amount money from each of them.
The affected banks included First Bank Plc, Skye Bank and Eco Bank Limited, situated at the Jubilee road in the commercial centre of Ikare Akoko by the robbers numbering about 25.
According to a shop owner in the area, who said the armed robbers came in about four vehicles, positioned themselves in strategic areas of the town blocked all entries into the banks' area, while they shot sporadically into the air.
He said four policemen, who were caught unawares were sprayed with bullets, while customers who were at the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) to withdraw cash were also killed during the attack.
He said about 12 other people, who tried to get away from the scene were hit by bullets. He said the bandits operated simultaneously at the three banks, while some other members of the gang attacked the police station very close to one of the banks.
He said three other policemen were killed at the police station, while a police officer was also hit.
A former chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) said the town was littered with corpses after the operation while those who were badly hit during the attack were taken to the state hospital in Akure for treatment, adding that more than 20 corpses were counted on Tuesday evening.
He said: "The attack was well planned and coordinated as the robbers positioned themselves at strategic places and destabilised the security agents in the town to have a smooth day."
He said the robbers also killed five people after the operation in
Ikare Akoko, while trying to escape with their loot around Iboropa and Akunnu, while they escaped through Ugbe to Edo State.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Wole Ogodo, when contacted said the police were still assessing the incident.
The robbers were said to have stormed an old generation bank, which was equally attacked in 2013 along with two others and which led to the closure of banking business in the commercial city for several months.
Unlike the previous incident, which happened in the night, Tuesday's incident started at about 3pm.
The robbers, a source in the town said came in two vehicles painted in military colours, while the robbers wore riot police uniform.
According to the source, the men blew up the security door of the bank with dynamite.