The Benue State Police Command on Saturday reacted to the series of bank robbery and assaults on police station in Otukpo Local Government Area of the state on Friday.
Given an update on the development in a statement made available to newsmen, the state police command said it intercepted and killed two of the armed robbers during the operation.
However, before assaulting the police station, the armed robbers had targeted several banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and Stanbic Bank, making off with undisclosed sums of money.
In an in-depth report, Catherine Anene, the command’s spokesperson, the police officers engaged the robbers along the Otukpo-Taraku road and neutralized two of the suspects.
The statement read, “On 20/10/2023 at about 1615hrs, armed robbers invaded Access, First, Zenith, UBA and Stanbic Bank Otukpo simultaneously.
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“The Otukpo Divisional Police Officer, CSP. John Adikwu and other Police teams in the area engaged them in a gun dwell but were unable to prevent their attack on the banks.
“More police teams in collaboration with other security agents were deployed to Otukpo to assist in stabilizing the area and prevent these robbers from escaping.
“The robbers who were intercepted along Otukpo-Taraku road engaged officers in a gun duel and two of the robbers died in the process.
“Other gang members abandoned their vehicles and escaped into the forest area and were chased by the police.
“The DPO who sustained a gunshot injury on his stomach and three other police officers have been confirmed dead at the hospital.
“Other persons who sustained injuries in the bank have been moved to the hospital for treatment. An investigation is ongoing at the moment”