Police chiefs meet in Edo state, strategize to avert future bank robbery.
By Alex Olise
The Police High Command met today in Benin, the Edo state capital to deliberate on better security architecture to be adopted by operatives to forestall attacks targeted at banks especially the experience of February 24, 2022, coordinated broad daylight robbery that occurred in the sleepy town of Uromi the headquarters of Esan Local Government Area of the state.
A top police source, at the Edo state command headquarters, told The Trumpet that, “the bravado and impunity displayed by the untrained armed men who held an entire community hostage for over three hours robbing four commercial banks simultaneously in the same community while the Police Area Command Headquarters is in Irua a nearby community not up to 700 meters away underpins the lip service we pay to the issue of security in Nigeria”
According to him, it was shocking that for over three hours, 20 frail-looking unmasked armed men stormed the commercial nerve centre of the community, blew open the bank’s security doors, shooting sporadically before looting the bank’s vaults.
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He explained that today’s meeting is aimed at repositioning all Police operatives across Edo state and its environs to crack down on criminals unleashing terror in the state metropolis.
The Trumpet learnt that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba was not impressed with the Commissioner of Police, Edo state command and Area Commanders, following their low display of courage during the long hours the bank robbery operation lasted.
He praised the courage of the vigilante group and youths of Ubiaja community who knew fully well they didn’t have AK47 to confront the criminals but came up with the idea of blocking the road which is the only way out from the scene of the robbery.
This singular idea paid off as the robbers abandoned their four cars and stole cash estimated at over N40 million. Unfortunately, two policemen and two civilians were killed during the robbery operation.
