A bank robbery in the Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja on Thursday resulted in the deaths of a Police Inspector and two armed robbers.
According to the Police, the incident began around 5:30 PM when a group of robbers invaded a bank in Abaji town.
The robbers invaded a police station on Toto Road, where they shot and killed a Police Inspector identified as Abila before the bank attack.
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A police officer recounted that the robbers arrived in two unmarked vehicles and began firing indiscriminately into the police station. “It is God who saved me because when the robbers alighted from the vehicles, they started shooting into the police station.
While I managed to escape, an Inspector who had earlier escaped later turned back because they had shot him in the chest,” he said.
After the police station attack, some gang members proceeded to the First Bank branch at the roundabout and continued shooting.
A bank staff member revealed that the robbers were unable to access the bank’s strong room but stole some cash from the counter.
He also mentioned that the robbers shot a guard who had tried to hide in the security house’s toilet.
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A swift response from a combined team of policemen, soldiers, vigilantes, and hunters led to a fierce gun battle at the bank. Two of the robbers were killed in the exchange.
A mob later seized one of the dead robbers’ bodies and set it on fire.
Benneth Igweh, FCT Police Commissioner who came to the scene with other officers, confirmed that two robbers were killed during the gunfight.
He expressed condolences to the family of the deceased Police Inspector and announced that the Police Anti-Robbery Squad and local hunters had been deployed to trace the fleeing robbers.
Igweh commended the combined security team for their efforts in foiling the robbery attempt.
