Death toll in Owo bank robbery hits 20
No fewer than 20 persons have lost their lives in the bank robbery operation that engulfed Owo town in Ondo State, on Thursday.
A reliable source at the Federal Medical
Centre, Owo, who pleaded anonymity, said 18 corpses were brought to the
hospital at about 8:20pm on Thursday, while additional two were brought
in on Friday morning.
“Now as I speak to you, we have 20
corpses in the morgue. We received 18 bodies last night and additional
two this morning. They were all casualties of the robbery incident that
happened the previous night. We also have about 25 people, with varying
degree of injuries, receiving treatment in the emergency ward.
Armed robbers at about 5pm on Thursday
attacked four banks, namely, Wema Bank, Ecobank, First
Bank and Skye
bank. Eyewitness accounts put the number of the hoodlums that carried
out the operation at about 40 and that they arrived in about ten
vehicles.
When Saturday Punch visited the
community on Friday, there was an uneasy calm as the residents, in
clusters, lined major roads in the ancient town discussing and analysing
the tragedy that had befallen them the previous night. None of the
banks opened for operation, but our correspondent learnt that the staff
were in the bank trying to put things in order.
It was learnt that the branch manager of
Wema Bank, a staff and a security officer attached to the bank were
killed in the premises. There were still splashes of blood on the floor
of the pavement at the frontage of the bank as of Friday morning. There
was also an abandoned Mercedes Benz E320 4MATIC wagon, with registration
number APP 574 DG. Also, the only security door at the entrance of the
bank was blown open.
An eye witness, who identified himself
simply as Seun, said the manager was instructed to fill one of the
vehicles with cash, and that after obeying the directive, he and two
others were shot outside the banking hall.
“After filling their vehicle with cash
inside, they told him to drive the car out of the park, and they shot
him. They also shot another staff, popularly known as Wale and then a
security guard. Adjacent the bank, two brothers, one of whom was selling
cassette, were killed. Those robbers went away with a lot of money,” he
said.
At Skye Bank, many payment tellers and
office files littered the entrance while a pungent smell of fire still
engulfed the area. The security door at the entrance was also blown open
while gunshots pierced the glass windows on the first floor. Part of
the building was also burnt. It was leant that huge sum of money was
also carted away.
At the Ecobank located at Mobil
roundabout, our correspondent found that gun bullets shattered the glass
walls at the entrance of the bank while one of the two security doors
was blown open by the robbers. A source, who pleaded anonymity, said the
bank had closed for operations and that they were busy balancing their
accounts when the incident happened.
“It was around 5:14pm. They stationed
one person outside while two others were carrying out the operation
inside. They made away with a lot of money but they didn’t kill anyone,”
the source said.
At First Bank, gunshots also shattered
the glass walls while the security door was also blown open. It was
leant that the robbers made away with bags of cash, while killing two
persons, including a man using the ATM and a small boy who was found
stealing a glance at them.
As if these were not enough, two
armoured tanks belonging to the police were also attacked with traces of
gunshots on one of them with registration number NPF5234C, which was
also driven into a gutter in front of the PHCN office in the area. A bus
belonging to the PHCN also had its rear glass shattered while a few
bullets decorated pierced the glass window of the three-storey building.
It was gathered that the Nigeria Police
Medical Services, Area Command headquarters, was also attacked by the
robbers and that about four policemen were killed while the mobile
phones of others were seized.
A resident, Mr. Tunji Olude, told Saturday Punch
that it took the efforts of some soldiers to mount a barricade at the
exit point of the robbers, where about five of the robbers were killed
and two were arrested.
Reacting to the incident, the Police
Public Relations Officer in Ondo State, Mr. Wole Ogodo, confirmed the
incident, saying two of the robbers were arrested. He added that the
commissioner of police would later in the day brief the press on the
incident.