allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Armed Robbery - Adamawa Under Siege (Page 1 of 2)

Mr. Aloysius, Okorie, the Adamawa State Commissioner of Police, and indeed the entire Police Force in the state must be wondering about what has suddenly gone wrong considering the current upsurge in the rate of armed robbery operations and the resultant high toll of casualties.

This is against the background of the meeting he held with officials of financial institutions to marshal out plans to check the incessant raids on markets and banks where it is believed that hundreds of millions of naira were lost to the men of the underworld.

Okorie had stated at the meeting that the officers and men of Nigerian Police force in Adamawa State might consider withdrawing their services in guiding financial institutions, especially banks in the state unless they upgrade their security systems. Apparently worried by loss of its men in providing security surveillance for the banks, Adamawa State Police command directed all banking institutions to purchase bullet proof bullion vans for their operations to discourage men of the underworld from attempting to hijack its movements on the highways.

The state commissioner of police, who gave the directive to bank managers and representatives of other financial institutions, described the situation as worrisome that a number of policemen have lost their lives to men of the underworld because of lax security measures put in place by the banks. He disclosed that the directive emanated from the Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro whom, he said, the police has recorded loss of lives in the course of escorting banks' bullion vans to their various destinations.

Okorie also directed the bankers to fortify their banks with both communication and security gadgets in view of the sophisticated equipment used by men of the underworld in the raiding of banks, while the bank branches in the rural areas should be adequately fenced with spiral barbwire. The Police boss also advised the financial institutions executives to ensure that police personnel posted to their banks were always on their beats or else report cases of abscondment to the police headquarters for prompt action.

Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after addressing the banks' executives, the Police Commissioner, said the stakeholders meeting of banks became necessary in view of the loss of lives of his men and the huge amount being disbursed to the families of the deceased as compensation and burial rites. He disclosed that there were backlog of compensations to families of deceased still pending since 2002 to date.

"The police have found it increasingly difficult to pay up compensations to families of the deceased police officers because of the high toll of casualties. The pending compensations run into millions of naira," he further said.

However, barely a week after the meeting , which Okorie thought was a master stroke, the robbers struck again in Mubi , the commercial nerve centre of the state, with devastating effect leaving tales of woes, blood and tears. Narrating how at least two of his men lost their lives and 28 other persons sustain gunshot injuries and four of the robbers killed, Okorie, said two policemen including a sergeant serving with Mopol Unit 19 Port-Harcourt Rivers State and four other armed robbers were confirmed killed, while seven other people were critically wounded from stray bullets after the robbers raided about five commercial banks in Mubi.

The robbers believed to have carted away about over 500 million naira belonging to two new generation banks escaped to neighbouring villages in Borno State, while leaving one of the managers amongst the casualties.

Briefing newsmen later, Okorie said that a gang of armed robbers numbering over 25 invaded the banks in Mubi and made away with huge sums of money after their operations. He said that the bandits operating with sophisticated weapons had over powered the few policemen at the banks. He said they came in about five jeeps and a 406 Peugeot Salon car as getaway vehicles. The Adamawa Police boss disclosed that a police corporal attached to one of the bank was also serious injured during the exchange of fire with the bandits.

He pointed out that the Mubi Area Command Police boss radioed the state headquarters over the incident and his office immediately communicated to all the police divisions and the neighboring states of Yobe and Borno to be alert. According to him, one of the bandits was killed in Gombi when the armed robbers ran into a police road block, while the other four including the serving Police sergeant with Mopol 19 Port Harcourt were killed in Biu and Damboa all in Borno State. He said before the police sergeant died, he confessed that he was hired by the armed robbers to assist them to scale through police check points after their operations.

Okorie also disclosed that another seven members of the gang that raided Mubi were arrested in Maiduguri Motor Park by police detectives in their attempt to board a taxi. The Adamawa State police boss further explained that the gangs were arrested with "Ghana-Must Go" bags containing monies suspected to be the ones they carted away from the banks in Mubi. Okorie, who commended the Borno Police Command and his men over their gallant action, also commended the general public over their assistance to ensure that the bandits were arrested.

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