No fewer than three persons were reportedly killed by a gang of armed robbers at Ilara Mokin Town in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State on Thursday, while the hoodlums were operating at a branch of the United Bank for Africa.
Three other persons were said to have been injured as they were hit by strayed bullets from the gang. An undisclosed amount of money was also carted away by the robbers.
It was gathered that the deceased include a policeman, a commercial motorcyclist and a staff of the Elizade University, identified as Mr. Bunmi Afuye.
The robbers were said to have broken the bullet-proof door of the bank with dynamite before they gained entrance into the banking hall.
According to an eyewitness, the okada rider and the Elizade staff were passing by when they rammed into the robbers while the operation was ongoing. They were said to have been killed by strayed bullets. But the policeman was said to have been killed by the dynamite.
A resident of the community, who was inside the bank when the robbers arrived, narrated that the robbers, numbering six, attacked the bank at about 3pm and started shooting sporadically into the air to scare the people.
He said, “I was inside the bank when they (robbers) came. Immediately, we all laid down when they started shouting “where is the manager! Where is the manager!”
“So they later got the key of the vault and packed the money there but they were not satisfied with what they saw. They also opened the Automated Teller Machine which didn’t have enough money. That infuriated them and they shouted, “Where is the money?” It seems they didn’t get their target. After they took the money, they went out angrily, shooting to escape the scene.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tee-Leo Ikoro confirmed the incident, adding that a team of policemen had been deployed in the scene while investigation had commenced.
