The Kogi Police Command has explained how its operatives repel attempts by well armed gunmen to rob the UBA, First Bank, and Zenith Bank branches in in Ankpa community of the state on Tuesday afternoon. .
Mr Edward Egbuka, the State Commissioner of Police made the explanation while confirming that dare-devil armed robbers attacked the banks on Tuesday in a statement issued in Lokoja, the state capital.
He explained that immediately after the alert of the robbery was received, Anti Robbery Squad quickly led a team of tactical operatives to the scenes for an on-the-spot assessment.
He said the CP had directed the deployment of additional operational assets, consisting of operatives of the Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit, Quick Response Unit, and State Intelligence Bureau in synergy with other security agencies, to restore normalcy in the area.
“The good news is that the police personnel on duty both at the station and the banks, who quickly recovered from the sudden attack, gallantly repelled the attackers and forced them to flee, some into nearby bushes, while others with their vehicles.
He said the robbers abandoned three vehicles used for the operation in their haste to escape, some of them with bullet wounds.
The CP, according to the PPRO, called on the people of Ankpa and its adjoining communities to be on the lookout and report anybody seen with bullet wounds to the police or any other security forces nearest to them.
Egbuka assured that the command was committed to working in synergy with other security agencies and patriotic stakeholders in the onslaught against crimes and criminality, to make Kogi a safe and secure place for citizens.
He said the CP had ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Investigation Department (SCID) to begin investigations and unravel the remote and immediate causes of the act, trail the hoodlums with a view to apprehending them to face justice.
He urged members of the public to go about their lawful businesses as they continued to collaborate with the police and other security agencies.
He appealed to the public for credible and timely information on the activities of criminal elements in their environs. – NAN.
