No fewer than 20 persons have lost their lives in the bank robbery operation that engulfed Owo town in Ondo State, on Thursday.
A reliable source at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, who pleaded anonymity, said 18 corpses were brought to the hospital at about 8:20pm on Thursday, while additional two were brought in on Friday morning.
“Now as I speak to you, we have 20 corpses in the morgue. We received 18 bodies last night and additional two this morning. They were all casualties of the robbery incident that happened the previous night. We also have about 25 people, with varying degree of injuries, receiving treatment in the emergency ward.
Armed robbers at about 5pm on Thursday attacked four banks, namely, Wema Bank, Ecobank, First Bank and Skye bank. Eyewitness accounts put the number of the hoodlums that carried out the operation at about 40 and that they arrived in about ten vehicles.
When Saturday Punch visited the community on Friday, there was an uneasy calm as the residents, in clusters, lined major roads in the ancient town discussing and analysing the tragedy that had befallen them the previous night. None of the banks opened for operation, but our correspondent learnt that the staff were in the bank trying to put things in order.
It was learnt that the branch manager of Wema Bank, a staff and a security officer attached to the bank were killed in the premises. There were still splashes of blood on the floor of the pavement at the frontage of the bank as of Friday morning. There was also an abandoned Mercedes Benz E320 4MATIC wagon, with registration number APP 574 DG. Also, the only security door at the entrance of the bank was blown open.
An eye witness, who identified himself simply as Seun, said the manager was instructed to fill one of the vehicles with cash, and that after obeying the directive, he and two others were shot outside the banking hall.
“After filling their vehicle with cash inside, they told him to drive the car out of the park, and they shot him. They also shot another staff, popularly known as Wale and then a security guard. Adjacent the bank, two brothers, one of whom was selling cassette, were killed. Those robbers went away with a lot of money,” he said.
At Skye Bank, many payment tellers and office files littered the entrance while a pungent smell of fire still engulfed the area. The security door at the entrance was also blown open while gunshots pierced the glass windows on the first floor. Part of the building was also burnt. It was leant that huge sum of money was also carted away.
At the Ecobank located at Mobil roundabout, our correspondent found that gun bullets shattered the glass walls at the entrance of the bank while one of the two security doors was blown open by the robbers. A source, who pleaded anonymity, said the bank had closed for operations and that they were busy balancing their accounts when the incident happened.
“It was around 5:14pm. They stationed one person outside while two others were carrying out the operation inside. They made away with a lot of money but they didn’t kill anyone,” the source said.
At First Bank, gunshots also shattered the glass walls while the security door was also blown open. It was leant that the robbers made away with bags of cash, while killing two persons, including a man using the ATM and a small boy who was found stealing a glance at them.
As if these were not enough, two armoured tanks belonging to the police were also attacked with traces of gunshots on one of them with registration number NPF5234C, which was also driven into a gutter in front of the PHCN office in the area. A bus belonging to the PHCN also had its rear glass shattered while a few bullets decorated pierced the glass window of the three-storey building.
It was gathered that the Nigeria Police Medical Services, Area Command headquarters, was also attacked by the robbers and that about four policemen were killed while the mobile phones of others were seized.
A resident, Mr. Tunji Olude, told Saturday Punch that it took the efforts of some soldiers to mount a barricade at the exit point of the robbers, where about five of the robbers were killed and two were arrested.
Reacting to the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in Ondo State, Mr. Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident, saying two of the robbers were arrested. He added that the commissioner of police would later in the day brief the press on the incident. – Punch.
