Awka — Eight people were feared killed in Nnewi, as suspected armed robbers stormed the town with three SUV cars and a bullion van , in a serial bank robbery that caught bank officials and security operatives unawares.
Apparently confusing everyone around that had brought money to one of the banks with the bullion van , the robbers successfully caried out their operation, carting away large sums of money running into millions of naira in the process.
After operating from one bank to another for about three hours unchallenged, the robbers, numbering about 12, who were dressed in camouflage military uniforms continued shooting indiscriminately to scare away onlookers and counter police operatives.
They were said to have raided three banks (two old generation and one new generation bank) in the industrial city killing eight persons and leaving 16 others seriously injured..It was learnt that on arriving the Bank Avenue in the city where most of the banks are located, the bandits opened fire, shooting sporadically into the air, and causing a heavy stampede in the sprawling Nkwo Nnewi, market and beyond
A local vigilante group that challenged the robbers had forced them to round off their operation and in a bid for an escape , the robbers fired indiscriminate shots at people and in the process killed eight persons, including a policeman, a lawyer and a member of the local vigilante group.
Several vehicles were also destroyed as their owners scampered for safety amidst the confusion.
The robbers, THISDAY gathered, operated unmolested for over two hours during which they carted away several millions of naira from the banks' vaults into their own bullion van and thereafter raided the Nkwo Nnewi market abandoned by the fleeing traders before escorting the bullion van to an unknown destination.
Witnesses said the dexterity of the robbers, the sophistication of their arms and their get- away strategies totally suggest an insider information network and posed new challenges to the increasing security lapses in the state.
When contacted, the commissioner of police in the state, Amusa Bello, confirmed the incident, saying that his men promptly rose to the occasion by mobilising and chasing the robbers, just as he admitted that there were casualties on both sides.
He said that the police had deployed an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to Nnewi which helped to contain the robbers. He however, confirmed that no arrest had been made as at the time of filing the report.
The State governor, Mr Peter Obi, visited some of the victims at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi where those who sustained injuries were taken for medical attention.
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The police commissioner should be sacked as when a gang of robbers is ghased they run for their lives not robbering from one bank to another
It,s realy too sad and bad news to here that armed robbers will rub from one bank to another for over three hrs finally made away with millions of naira killed eight people and wounded many others and succesfuly escaped and all that the police comissioner will say is there were injuries on both side they chase them or rather escorted them out of the town without catching up with any of them it,s realy sad . In fact the police comissioner have to resign because it,s a big disgrace to the security of that state. kaa.
It,s realy too sad and bad news to here that armed robbers will rub from one bank to another for over three hrs finally made away with millions of naira killed eight people and wounded many others and succesfuly escaped and all that the police comissioner will say is there were injuries on both side they chase them or rather escorted them out of the town without catching up with any of them it,s realy sad . In fact the police comissioner have to resign because it,s a big disgrace to the security of that state. kaa.
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Some one has slipped up in Kansas, Toto. An unidentified as yet man entered two payday loan stores in Wichita, Kansas, attempting two robberies, only one of which was successful. In the first attempt, the man was successful in entering the building, and not much else, but got into another store the next day, and brandished a gun, and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. Payday lenders have been robbed with an increasing frequency over the last few years, and stores have been robbed from coast to coast. When they figure out who this guy is in Kansas, he's going to need that short term loan money to get a really good lawyer. Visit http://personalmoneystore.com/Short-Term-Loans/ for more info.