Armed robbers
had invaded commercial banks in Kwara State town of Offa yesterday. The banks
robbed include branches of Guaranty Trust Bank, Eco Bank, First Bank, Union
Bank and Zenith Bank.
Here are more photos from
the Offa bank robbery along with a video:
The Offa bank robbery
lasted for over an hour.
The Offa bank robbers
invaded the town a few minutes past 4 p.m. and shot into the air sporadically
to scare away residents and passersby before the operation began.
An eyewitness, who
identified herself as Mrs. Tijani, said the thieves came in large numbers, and
split themselves into teams to carry out the operations in different banks.
Sources in the town said
the robbers blew up entrances into the banks with dynamite, before carting away
money from the five banks.
Mrs Tijani said:
“They used something like bomb
to break into Union Bank,” she said.
Also, a student of Federal
Polytechnic Offa, Dennis Ifeoluwa, explained that gunshots and heavy sounds
filled the air. Business activities and vehicular movement ceased during the
operation.
“I was coming from where
I’m undergoing my Industrial Training when these sounds started. I had to hide
myself somewhere.”
“After a while they left.
Only to discover dead bodies outside. I saw someone’s intestines outside
today,” he narrated.
The robbers then invaded
the community police station known as Owode Police Station where some police
officers and a few civilians were shot dead.
Reacting to the Offa bank
robbery, the Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, told
PREMIUM TIMES that the command could not immediately confirm casualty figure.
He also hinted that the
amount stolen by the robbers was still unknown.
Banks in Offa, Kwara have
been victims of robbery attacks. The last time a robbery incident occurred in
Offa was in December, 2013. The rampant cases of robbery in the communities
once forced banks in Offa to shut down operations for a long period.
A resident who identified
himself simply as Ahmed told PremiumTimes that Thursday’s attack remains the
deadliest in recent history.
“Offa is in serious
mourning now. This is the most tragic and deadliest attack in recent years,” he
said.
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