Robbers kill police officer in Osun state
- Details
- Category: Law, Crime & Judiciary
- Published on Friday, 23 September 2011 08:02
- Written by Admin
- Hits: 531
An Inspector of Police simply identified as Atama was yesterday shot dead during a 30-minute raid on four banks at Iwo, in Iwo Local Government area of Osun State.
An eye witness account stated that the robbers shot sporadically into the air on arrival to scare people away, after which they formed themselves into five gangs, a gang for each of the four banks while the remaining gang attacked the Secretariat of Iwo, Ayedire and Ola-oluwa branch of the Nigeria Patents and Medicine Dealers Association. (NPMDA).
The four banks were robbed simultaneously by using explosives to break open the security doors. They gained entrance and carted away millions of Naira from the customers and bank officials.
The NPMDA Secretariat was said to be the target of the gang because of its strategic location coupled with the knowledge that it is a hide-out for security men attached to the banks.
Consequent upon this, the gang rained bullet on the storey building Secretariat with the aim of eliminating any living soul within its premises.According to the Chairman of NPMDA, Mr. Lukman Hussen, what saved them from bloodbath was because it was not a Friday when they hold their meetings in the Secretariat.
His words “if it were to be tomorrow (today), many of us would have lost our lives to this attack, as you can see” Panic was said to have gripped staff and students of Bowen University which shares boundaries with the banks when they heard four simultaneous explosions especially with the fear already created that the Boko Haram Sect was planning to attack higher institutions.
No sooner had the explosions went off than text messages started flying about that the sect had struck at the institution, thereby creating anxiety among stakeholders of the University.
The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor T. O Olagbemiro who admitted that panic gripped the entire university while the operation lasted, gave thanks to God that none of his staff or student fell victim of the dastardly act.
On the security situation in the campus, Professor Olagbemiro disclosed that no fewer than two hundred security men were employed by the management to keep watch over the security situation in the campus.
The visitor to the University, the Secretary General of the Baptist Convention, Rev. (Dr.) Samson Ayokunle said he had to abandon other assignments to see things for himself as a result of conflicting reports from various quarters.
He expressed his gratitude to God that none of the staff or students of the institution was affected, as against rumours of bomb attack making the round.
At the Iwo Police Station, the Divisional Police Officer and the Head of Mobile Unit of the Osun State Police command held a closed door meeting but refused to talk to the press, insisting that they had no mandate to do such.
Beside the police officer shot dead, no fewer than four people also sustained various degrees of injuries and have been taken to the hospital for medical attention.
The Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Solomon Olusegun who confirmed the robbery attack said that the command was on top of the situation. (Compass News)
