An attempt by a 15 man robbery gang to clean out a branch of First Bank Plc in the Abaji area of Abuja was foiled by a team of police and military operatives Thursday.
The suspects believed to be bandits also launched a simultaneous attack on a divisional police headquarters in the same area.
One police man and three of the invaders lost their lives in the ensuing gun battle which lasted for about an hour.
Federal Capital Territory police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, who confirmed the attack said three persons were arrested, while others fled the scene.
“In swift response to an armed robbery incident at First Bank Plc in Abaji on June 13, 2024, at about 5pm, the FCT police, led by the commissioner of police, CP Benneth Igweh, himself, in a combined operation with the military, mobilised to scene and repelled the attack simultaneously carried out on both Abaji Divisional Police headquarters and First Bank Plc in Abaji by a group of 15 armed men who attacked with dynamites in attempt to rob the bank,” Adeh said in a statement.
“The security forces engaged the armed robbers in an intense gun duel, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet wounds, as the security forces succeeded in apprehending three suspects, namely, Usman (surname yet unknown), who was reported to be the gang leader, Nuhu Musa, 41 ‘m’ of Kogi State; andp Muhammed Aminu, 25 ‘m’ of Abaji, with grave degrees of bullet injuries, while a yet-to-be-identified suspect was set ablaze by an irate mob at the scene after being neutralised by the security forces.
“One police operative and the gang leader hit by a bullet during the gun duel, were rushed to the hospital, and the doctor on duty confirmed them dead, while others are still receiving treatment.
“While a search operation is ongoing to apprehend fleeing suspects with bullet injuries, the commissioner of police FCT lauds the effectiveness of the combined operation and reaffirms the command’s unflinching commitment to ensuring that FCT remains inhabitable for criminals, noting that the safety of the residents of FCT is non-negotiable.”
