Katsina police investigate alleged snatching of N61 Million from civil servant

The Katsina Police Command, yesterday, said it has commenced an investigation into Thursday’s armed robbery attack in the state capital, where one Aminu Darma, a cashier in the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), was robbed of N61 million by a two-member gang.

Spokesperson for the command, SP Gambo Isah, who made this known while confirming the incident, said the command suspected a ‘conspiracy theory’ behind the incident.

It would be recalled that armed robbers on Thursday afternoon, attacked Darma after he had withdrawn the said money from a commercial bank in the metropolitan area.

According to eyewitnesses, Darma had hardly left the premises of the commercial bank for his office, when he noticed another car was following him.

They said that Darma decided to make a U-turn at the SteelRolling roundabout and went back to the town in the hope of shaking off his trailers.

But the trailing vehicle was said to have persisted in the pursuit, and the robbers were able to accost him, grabbed the money and shot him in the hand.

The victim is currently receiving medical attention at the Katsina Teaching Hospital, but the police are suspecting a conspiracy.

Confirming the incident, Isah said, “Yes, it is true. But we are investigating the surrounding circumstances on the alleged attack. It baffled the command for a state government staff to carry such a huge sum of amount without police escort.

“Also the modus operandi was very suspicious. An attack with an AK-47 by real armed robbers may lead to fatal injury and not mere brushes.

“We are also investigating why the personnel went alone to pick the money without any supporting staff and only to be robbed by two gunmen in an ash-coloured Camry, motor vehicle.

“He (the cashier) was alleged to have single-handedly withdrawn the sum of N61 million from the bank. There is a conspiracy theory we are investigating here.

“Sometimes last year, one of the staff from the same office, equally withdrew the huge sum of money and stated that he left the money in the trunk of his vehicle only to come back and discovered that it had been stolen.

“The command is tired of receiving such cock and bull stories coming out from professional and qualified financial managers of the office of the SGS.”

“We are not going to leave any stone unturned until the perpetrators are brought to book,” the police spokesperson added.