- Police Inspector killed as angry residents set robber’s corpse ablaze
A Police Inspector and two armed robbers were killed on Thursday during a bank robbery at Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
In their fit of anger, some residents of the area set the corpse of one suspected armed robber ablaze.
A Police insider hinted that the robbers first attacked the police station along Toto road where an Inspector simply identified as Abila was shot dead.
Reports said the robbers, who stormed the area in two unmarked vehicles at about 5:30 pm, targeted the police station, firing shots at anything in sight.
An officer, who preferred anonymity, told some reporters that the attack was so sudden and took everyone at the station unawares.
According to him; “In fact, it is God that saved me because when the robbers alighted from the vehicle, they started shooting into the police station.
“While I managed to escaped, an inspector who had earlier escaped later turned back because they had shot him on the chest”.
It was gathered that from the Police station attack, some of the deadly gang members headed to the First Bank branch at the roundabout and continued their shooting spree.
Also giving an account of the incident he described as a ‘traumatic experience’, a bank’s staff, who refused to have his name in print, said the robbers gave both customers and bank staff a rude shock.
He said being the close of business for the day, the robbers were unable to access the bank’s strong room for bulk money, and they only carted away available cash that were still at the counter within the banking hall.
The staff disclosed before gaining entry into the banking hall, the robbers shot at a guard who luckily escaped into the bank security house’s toilet for safety.
Furthermore, available information indicated that a combined team of police, soldiers, vigilante and local hunters quickly mobilized to the scene and engaged the robbers in a fierce exchange of gun fire, leading to the death of two criminal gang members.
Our correspondent gathered that in the heat of the moment, an angry mob seized one of the corpses and set it ablaze on-the-spot.
Confirming the incident, the FCT Police Commissioner, Benneth Igweh, who later arrived at the scene in company of police officers, said two of the robbers were shot dead during exchange of gunfire with security operatives.
He said police anti-robbery squad and hunters had been deployed in the bush to trace the fleeing robbers, even as he commended the effort of the combined team of security agents for foiling the attack.
While commiserating with the family of the deceased Police Inspector, CP Igweh disclosed that Police Anti-Robbery Squad and local hunters have been mobilised and deployed to go after the fleeing members of the criminal gang.
The Police boss was full of praise for the combined team of security agents whose efforts and prompt action successfully foiled the robbery attack.
