Segun Atanda/
Police have confirmed 16 people killed by armed robbers who raided five banks in Offa, Kwara State, on Thursday.
Police spokesman in Kwara State, ASP Ajayi Okansanmi, said today that nine of the dead were policemen.
According to him, the police had recovered some of the vehicles snatched by the robbers and were determined to apprehend the fleeing bandits.
He said the congested nature of the Offa metropolis made it difficult for police to engage the robbers in a gun fight.
He added that most highways in the town were also blocked by vehicles abandoned by motorists fleeing the crossfire thus impeding the efforts of the police to pursue the robbers.
Okansanmi in an interview monitored on Channels television today said: “We have so far confirmed nine policemen and seven civilians killed in the attack. We have mobilised men and resources to unravel the root of this unprovoked attack on policemen and civilians.
“If you know the location of the police station that was attacked and how congested the area is, you will appreciate why police could not return ‘fire-for-fire’ with the robbers. Also many motorists abandoned their vehicles on the road making it difficult to go after the robbers. There are also multiple entries into the town. But our men still pursued them to the point they were forced to abandon some of the vehicles they had earlier snatched. We are determined to arrest all members of the gang.”
He said banks were still shut in the town because people were yet to recover from the shock of the incident.
He added that police were working with the affected banks to ascertain how much was stolen.
NewsmakersNG learned the robbers, numbering close to 50, raided five banks in an operation that lasted over two hours.
The robbers reportedly blew up entrances into the banks with dynamite.
Eyewitnesses listed the affected banks to include Ecobank, Zenith Bank, First Bank, Union Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank.
NewsmakersNG learned the robbery started around 4pm, with the robbers firing indiscriminately to scare away residents.
They reportedly entered Owode Police Station located in the town and shot dead four policemen and some visitors.
Residents said the robbers had a field day as no security official confronted them while the operation lasted.
The gang reportedly carted away huge amounts of cash from the banks they attacked.
Eyewitnesses said the affected area was littered with corpses, with one person claiming to have seen corpses of six policemen, among whom was a pregnant woman.
An eyewitness posted online how some of his siblings, who were returning from church, narrowly escaped being killed in the crossfire.
“They saw four people killed. They would have been killed because after they (robbers) finished the operation, a few of them opined that they should release gunfire on them (my siblings and those close to them), but a man, who seemed to be their boss, told them they had little time left and had no option than to exit immediately. Cars were burnt; cars were stolen. They exited through Igbosun route,” he wrote.
Graphic pictures of slain policemen and residents were posted by some residents on the Internet.
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