Six Die In Bank Robbery Attack In Lagos

It was a bloody Sunday in Lagos, on Sunday, as two policemen and four members of a dare-devil armed robbery gang were killed  during an attack on  the Ayobo Ipaja branch of a new generation bank.

Four members of the gang were, however, arrested by operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad  (SARS),  who were drafted to the scene of the robbery operation.

Some policemen were also severely injured while many members of the armed robbery gang also escaped with bullet wounds, while efforts are still on to arrest them.

The two teams engaged in serious gun battle , that reportedly lasted for over 30minutes,  creating serious chaos among many residents of the Lagos community.

It was gathered that the incident occurred  around 2a.m on  Sunday, when the robbers broke into the bank.

The robbers had reportedly forced their way into the bank and were vandalising the Automated Teller Machines in the bank,  when policemen from Ayobo Police station raced to the scene.

The armed robbers were said to have overpowered the police team, after a fierce gun duel and were able to escape from the scene of the robbery.

Another round of gun duel ensued between the armed robbers and SARS operatives,  leading to the arrest of four members of the gang,  while the suspected leader of the gang and some others escaped with bullet wounds.

At the end of the ferocious gun battle, two policemen lost their lives, while four members of the armed robbery gang were also reportedly killed.

A resident of Ayobo, Tope,  who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, described her experience as " very terrible and scary" following the magnitude of the heavy shooting that characterised the robbery.

The resident said that  "there was serious sophistication in the shooting between the policemen and the robbers. There was serious vibration from the shoot out."

The image maker in charge .of the state police command,  Ngozi Braide, confirmed a" foiled robbery attempt  "on the Ayobo branch of a new generation bank."

According to the Lagos police image maker, " at about 02 00 hours, Ayobo Police Division received a distress call that armed robbers were trying to break the ATM of the bank.

"A patrol team led by the OPs officer, ASP Longnus Anozie, responded swiftly and stormed the scene of the robbery."