Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
A police officer was reportedly killed in Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti Southwest Local Government on Tuesday during a bank robbery operation in the town.
The yet-to-be-identified policeman, according to sources, was an orderly attached to one of the council bosses in the state.
A source in the town told journalists that the bandits invaded an old generation bank beside the Alawe’s palace and broke the security door with the aid of dynamite before entering the bank hall.
The sound of the dynamite was said to have shaken the land and surrounding buildings with the bank’s security door shattered with the terrifying explosive.
The source said the robbers shot sporadically into the air which caused pandemonium in the town, as people had to leave the central axis of the town, where the bank was located to avoid being caught in the web of gunfire.
The operation, which occurred at about 3.56 pm, was said to have lasted for over 30 minutes despite the proximity to a police station located in the town.
The source said the victim was in mufti and was reported to have gone to the bank for business transaction when he was shot.
The source said: “They just came suddenly and started shooting. Those who had shops around that axis had to scamper for safety, because the shooting was too much and deafening.
“After blasting the security door, they went into banking hall and seized the bank staff and the customers. They made away with undisclosed amount of money.
“They later got out of the bank and escaped out of the town via Ilawe-Igbara Odo-Ogotun road,†the source said.
When contacted, the Police Spokesman, Ekiti Command, Mr Femi Adebisi, said he has not been briefed about the incident.
“I have not been briefed. In fact, the primaries conducted by parties in the governorship election had made me busy, so I have not been on ground for some time,†he said.
