A police inspector and two armed robbers were shot and killed on Thursday as security operatives foiled an attempted bank robbery at Abaji area council of the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.
Initial information gathered from a police source indicate that a group of robbers invaded a First Bank in Abaji town around 5:30pm. The source explained further that the robbers first attacked a police station along Toto Road where a police inspector simply identified as Abila was shot dead.
However, in swift response to the incident at the bank, the FCT police, led by the commissioner of police, Benneth Igweh, in a combined operation with the military, mobilized to scene and repelled the attack simultaneously carried out on both Abaji divisional police headquarters and the bank. The attackers, report say, numbered up to fifteen and were armed with dynamites in attempt to rob the bank.
The FCT Police public relations officer, Josephine Adeh, confirming the incident in a statement, said the security forces engaged the armed robbers in an intense gun duel, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet wounds, as the security forces succeeded in apprehending three suspects.
The statement further stated that one police operative and the gang leader hit by bullet during the gun duel, were rushed to the hospital, and the doctor on duty confirmed them dead, while others are still receiving treatment.
“One police operative and the gang leader hit by bullet during the gun duel, were rushed to the hospital, and the doctor on duty confirmed them dead, while others are still receiving treatment.
“While search operation is ongoing to apprehend fleeing suspects with bullet injuries, the commissioner of police FCT, CP Benneth C. Igweh, PSC, MNI, lauds the effectiveness of the combined operation and reaffirms the command’s unflinching commitment to ensuring that FCT remains inhabitable for criminals, noting that the safety of the residents of FCT is non-negotiable,” the statement read in part.
