It was a pathetic scene in Umuahia Abia State capital as dare devil armed robbers attacked a bullion van conveying cash running into hundreds of millions belonging to one of the new generation Banks, killing one of the Bank officials that accompanied the van with a team of mobile policemen who engaged the robbers in gun a duel.
The incident happened at Ntigha junction at Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway way. Mobile policemen attached to the billion van were said to have engaged the robbers in a gun duel.
During the shootout, one of the robbers was gunned down while others fled with bullet wounds following the exchange of gun fire.
Parading the corpse of the dead armed robber, police spokesperson of Abia State Police Command, Geoffrey Ogbonna, a Superintendent of Police (SP) told journalists that the armed robbers barricaded the expressway where they laid ambush waiting for the bullion van.
In an effort to escape, the yet-to-be-identified official of the bank who was escorting the cash was killed on the spot while three police officers were injured. An AK47 rifle with three loaded magazines strapped were recovered from the robbers.
Ogbonna said, “Based on a distress call, a team of tactical operatives were dispatched to the scene. At the scene, one inspector Leo Francis of Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) base 4 Aba was met and he stated that he along with five others while escorting a bullion van from Ogukwu streets Aba to Umuahia ran into a gang of armed robbers who had barricaded the high way and were firing sporadically.
“Efforts made to stop the bullion van and escort vehicle yielded no dividend as the driver veered into the bush.
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“The cash officer accompanying the bullion van was shot dead on the spot, three policemen on escort sustained bullet injuries while one of the armed robbers was neutralized and his AK 47, rifle with 90 rounds of ammunition was recovered.
“The injured policemen were rushed to the hospital while the deceased were deposited in the morgue for preservation. An investigation has commenced. The robbers were said to have carted away with an undisclosed sum of cash.”
The police spokesperson called on state residents to always volunteer information to the police for quick intervention.
He also appealed to hospitals in the state to report anyone in their facilities with bullet wounds for investigation as some of the robbers fled with bullet injuries.
The Trumpet gathered that the information on the robbery incident was based on insider’s connection from the bank based on intelligence reports that the police are working on.
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