Eight feared dead as robbers attack four banks in Owo

ARMED robbers again yesterday attacked four commercial banks in Owo, Ondo State, killing eight persons while many others sustained
injuries.

The armed robbers, who were reportedly dressed in military uniforms, invaded the town through Owo-Abuja expressway around 5.pm.

An eye-witness told The Guardian that the robbers shot sporadically into the air to scare people away and then forced their way into the banks, which was blowing their steel doors open with explosives.

The robbers, about seven in number, arrived shortly after the banks had closed for the day. They killed some bank officials, among whom was a bank manager who refused to cooperate with them, and carted away undisclosed sums of money.

Many people linked the unfortunate incident to the political trend in the state, as it was speculated that huge amount of money was deposited in the banks by a particular party during the day for financial logistics in preparation for Saturday’s election.

A source told journalists that the robbers met stiff resistance from residents of the town, who mounted roadblocks and barricades, and men of the Nigerian Army who came to confront them.

It was learnt that one of the robbers was captured alive and set ablaze by the irate mob before security operatives could save him.

The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident but was uncertain as to the number of casualties.

However, a worker at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, said 16 people with various degrees of injury were admitted in the emergency ward, while more than eight bodies had already been deposited in the morgue.