Heavily armed robbers have attacked a commercial bank in the Abaji area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, killing a police officer.
This is just as angry residents went after the robbers and set ablaze the corpse of one of the gunmen, reportedly caught on Thursday.
A police officer said that the robbers first attacked the police station along Toto road where an inspector simply identified as Abila was shot dead.
He said the robbers, who alighted from two unmarked vehicles, started firing into the police station.
“In fact, it was God that saved me because when the robbers alighted from the vehicle, they started shooting into the police station. While I managed to escaped, an inspector who had earlier escaped later turned back because they had shot him on the chest,” he said.
It was learnt that some members of the gang then proceeded to the First Bank branch located at the roundabout and started shooting sporadically.
One of the staff of the bank who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the robbers could not succeed in accessing the strong room where the bulk monies were kept but made away with some cash at the counter.
He said the robbers first shot a guard who ran into the toilet of the bank security house, before they walked into the bank.
Meanwhile, a combined team of police, soldiers, vigilante and hunters quickly mobilised to the scene and engaged the robbers in a fierce gun battle, which led to killing of two among them.
An angry mob seized one of the corpses and set it ablaze.
Meanwhile, the FCT police commissioner, CP Benneth Igweh, who later arrived at the scene in company of police officers, confirmed that two of the robbers were shot dead during exchange of gunfire with security operatives.
He said the police anti-robbery squad and hunters had been deployed in the bush to trace the fleeing robbers, even as he commended the effort of the combined team of security agents for foiling the attack.
CP Igweh, however, commiserated the family of the deceased inspector.