Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia
Armed robbers reportedly stole the sum of N100 million from Nasarawa State Government at gunpoint.
The incident took place in the premises of the Nasarawa State Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, Lafia, adjacent to the state’s Accountant General’s Office, where an array of security operatives were on guard.
An eyewitness, who craved for anonymity, told THISDAY that the suspected armed robbers trailed officials of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning from a commercial bank in Lafia where they went and withdrew cash from a commercial bank in order to pay casual workers of the ministry.
“But it was in the ministry’s premises that the well-armed gunmen snatched the N100 million from the finance ministry’s officials that were trying to dislodged the cash from the vehicle that conveyed it to the cash room.
“In the process of snatching the said amount of money, the gunmen shot sporadically in the air that the ministry’s officials carrying the money and other staff of the ministry within the premises lay down low paving the way for the gunmen to snatch the N100 million effortlessly,” the eyewitness narrated.
The eyewitness also said that the ministry does not engage the services of security agencies in carrying out its activities.
“Officials of the ministry wouldn’t want to expend the ministry’s resources on security operatives hence they neglected services of security agencies in the day to day running of the ministry.”
When contacted in a telephone conversation, the state Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, Mr. Haruna Ogbole, confirmed the robbery incident that investigations were on going, but he declined to disclose the amount that was snatched by the suspected armed robbers.
