Several Killed In Edo Bank Robbery

Several persons including policemen were killed during a bank robbery at Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo local government area of Edo State, on Wednesday.

A security guard at the bank was killed at the operation which eyewitnesses said lasted one hour.

The robbery operation was said to have begun at about 6:00am shortly after the state’s Police Commissioner, Chris Ezike, left Auchi which is about 30 minutes drive from Igarra.

An eyewitness told our correspondent on phone that the robbers killed a guard and started shooting people after ransacking the bank and attacking policemen at the police station.

He said many persons are receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the area.

Another witness said the robbers were heavily armed and engaged the police in a shoot-out.

The Nation gathered that policemen who took cover in the bush came out when an armoured personnel carrier was brought to the robbery scene.

Local vigilante groups reportedly joined in the shoot-out and blocked all routes to Igarra town which made the robbers to abandon the vehicles used for the operation.

When contacted, Edo Police spokesman, Stanley Osifo, said he was on his way to the crime scene alongside the police commissioner.