Offa Robbery: Police Confirm 17 Killed; 7 Suspects Arrested

-
Nigerian police force used to illustrate the story

The deadly armed robbery attack which occurred in Kwara State on Thursday left at least 17 persons dead, including eight police officers, police said Friday.

 Daredevil robbers struck five different banks in downtown Offa shortly after 4:00 p.m., blowing their ways into the vaults before carting away huge chunks of money. The specific amount is still being ascertained, police said.

The robbers also shot residents at random and launched an assault on a police station within the community, which is also home to a federal polytechnic and situated about 60 kilometres south of Ilorin, the state capital.

“Twelve people were killed at the police station, eight of them were police officers,” Kwara police commissioner Lawan Ado told PREMIUM TIMES late Friday. “The remaining four were suspects in police custody.”

The police chief said five persons were killed in indiscriminate shooting by the armed robbers on the streets of Offa. The robbers also made away with arms and ammunition from the police armoury when they attacked the police station.

The police intelligence response team have arrived from Abuja to support the team on ground for a thorough investigation, Mr. Ado said, adding that seven suspects have been taken into custody.

“We arrested one person yesterday and six persons today in connection with the robbery,” he said. “We will stop at nothing to ensure that all the suspects are arrested.”

The commissioner confirmed affected bank branches as including Zenith Bank Guarantee Trust Bank, Union Bank , First Bank and Eco Bank.

He said the police have recovered seven vehicles abandoned by the suspects in the outskirts of the town, exhibits he said would form a part of detectives’ probe into the attack.

Reports of the robbery gripped the nation on Thursday, with some accounts saying the death toll was as high as 30.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, a former governor of the state, dispatched a condolence message to the community on Thursday, promising a bitter end for the attackers and charging security agencies to take urgent measures to ensure that the suspects are arrested and future attacks are forestalled.

PREMIUM TIMES

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Imiegba And Children Of Pa Akubo Esuka Celebrate His Enthronement As Ódegbé

-
Image
  By Suleiman Ugbokhe Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka, the Ódegbé of Imiegba Imiegba Community, Three Ivie Clan in Etsako East local government area was in a celebration mode on Sunday, December 27, 2020, when the indigenes both home and abroad joined the children of Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka to celebrate his enthronement as the Ódegbé of Imiegba. Pa. Akubo Yakubu Esuka was born to the family of Mr. Esuka and Madam Ogenikho about 104 years ago in Imiegba. In his quest for a better life, he left his birth place, Imiegba, in 1944, with his maternal uncle, Pa Etsekhumhe Ogweli for Minna where he did manial jobs for some time before he left for Kaduna with a single mission: To join the army. But it turned out to be mission impossible as Pa Akubo was not accepted into the army "for reasons I don't know," he says. "I then proceeded to Kano from Kaduna with the hope of securing a job. I was still not able to get a job." As the saying goes, 'no place like home,' Pa Akubo had
Read more

Hon. Benedicta Ebuehi Felicitates With Gov Obaseki On Fifth Anniversary

-
Image
  By Suleiman Ugbokhe His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki, Executive Governor, Edo State The immediate past Executive Chairman of Etsako East local government area, Hon. (Princess) Benedicta Ebuehi has congratulated His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki on the occasion of his fifth anniversary as the Executive Governor of Edo state. In a statement personally signed by her and made available to newsmen, Hon. Ebuehi stated that ”It is heartwarming that your coming into office as Executive Governor of Edo state five years ago has transformed the state into a viable tier of government whose policies and programmes have continued to attract admiration and consultancy from your counterparts in other states of the federation." The erstwhile council boss noted that even in the choice of personnel to help drive the policies and programmes of the administration of the 'Heartbeat of the Nation,' Governor Godwin Obaseki has been meticulous, which has resulted in a peaceful, harmonious and seam
Read more

One Year After ... Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi Remains The Toast Of Etsako East People

-
Image
By Suleiman Ugbokhe Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi, Former Executive Chairman, Etsako East Local Government Area It is one year now since Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi left office as the Executive Chairman of Etsako East local government area, a position she stepped into when the then helmsman, Aremiyau Momoh (Mbakwe), under whom she was the vice chairman, was removed from office by the state government two years into the three-year tenure. On assuming office as Executive Chairman, Princess Benedicta left no one in doubt that she was coming into office to serve the people of Etsako East local government area, and not to canonise, imperialise herself as was the case before her. One of the first things she did to demonstrate her people-oriented policy was the purchase and installation of a transformer at Awuyemi (Ward 5), to end years of darkness in that part of Okpella. It is very easy to gloss over this achievement but when the socioeconomic ripple effects of restoring power supply t
Read more