Osun State Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode has said that the command is on the trail of armed robbers who invaded banks in Iree town on Thursday, August 5, 2021, just as he appealed to members of the public to give information to the police whenever they see anyone with bullet wounds.
This was made known in a statement issued on Friday, August 6, by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Yemisi Opalola.
Confirming the bank robbery, she said that it occurred at about 3:40 pm.
Opalola disclosed that the armed robbers, numbering about 20, came in a commando-like style with about four vehicles and attacked Iree Divisional Police Headquarters with explosives and several guns, shooting sporadically.
The move by the armed robbers were said to have been an attempt to incapacitate and destabilize the police who were in a fierce gun battle with them while robbing Access Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) simultaneously.
According to Opalola, “the attempt to attack the police dvision armoury was repelled and thereby unfruitful.
“The robbers, on sighting the policemen comprising operatives of the CP’s Surveillance team, IRT, PRU, Anti-Kidnapping, STS, 39 PMF, JTF along with local security outfits, who promptly engaged them in a fierce gun duel, took to flight.
“The police gave them a hot chase, recovered four of the vehicles used for the operation, along with some live ammunition, and they fled into the bush with bullet wounds.”
Unfortunately, a special constabulary, Dauda Jelili was killed while four civilians were injured and receiving treatment in a hospital.
Stating that the amount of cash carted by the armed robbers had yet to be ascertained from the banks, the PPRO said that the police, in collaboration with local security outfits, had been combing the bushes in a bid to arrest the robbers.
She added that the Commissioner of Police enjoined residents of the state to cooperate and collaborate with the police by giving prompt and useful information to nip in the bud all criminal activities before occurrence.
