The recent incident of armed robbery attack in Ikorodu, about few days has been major topic in town right now.
Where is the security, if law enforcement agency run away for an horrible incident like this?
According to Punch, a Zenith Bank and First Bank branch respectively, were robbed.
Eyewitnesses present during the attacks shared their experiences with newsmen. Here are excerpts from their accounts:
A banker at Zenith Bank
“They shouted, ‘open the door, open the door’, but none of us answered them. Suddenly, we heard an explosion and the glass went down. I was wounded by broken glasses.
One of them entered and when he saw about N20m that we had arranged to put inside our ATMs, he shouted, ‘Area, Zico see money. See money wey we dey look for.’ He started dancing. He pulled a lady among us and ordered her to pack the money inside the bags they brought. After packing the money, the robbers ordered her to lead them to the strong room.
When the lady opened the strong room, the robber that shouted in the ATM room exclaimed again, ‘Eheeeee, Area, Zico give me bags! Give me bags. Come and see money wey we dey look for. They packed everything in the strong room; more than N60m. We were expecting a bullion van to move the money before the incident happened.”
The robbers carted away over N80m from Zenith Bank which “a bullion van was to transport out of the bank…”
Individuals using ATM Machines at Both Banks at Time of Incident
*John said: “I was at the ATM section of the Zenith Bank to withdraw money. Suddenly, there were gunshots. Two of the gunmen came in and one of them threw me on the floor. He wanted to shoot, but his colleague told him to leave me.”
*Peter said: “I was at the First Bank at exactly 9am to use the ATM. It was my turn when we suddenly heard gunshots. I saw two of the robbers shooting directly at the police station and the policemen ran away.Some gunmen came into the First Bank. A guy stood outside and two entered the bank. They used dynamite to destroy the door of the bank. They entered the banking hall and ordered everybody to lie down. These guys looked young. They were dressed in black and they wore caps. They did not use masks. They robbed for over an hour. It was terrible.”
Pedestrians
*Jane said: “Where I hid, I saw them carrying bags of money into the jetty. That short woman held the gun, while another guy took the money inside the jetty. When they were about to escape, they removed the number plates of their three cars, poured fuel on them and shot at one of them, which erupted in flames. Along that waterfront are naval officers. Where were they then?”
*Mary said: “From what happened today, it shows that Nigerians are not safe. It is a shame. The policemen hid at the back of Ipakodo Grammar School for more than one hour.”
According to reports, it was after the robbers left that police arrived at the scenes of the attacks.
Some people were injured but no one was killed.
Photo Credit: Punch