Armed robbers on Thursday invaded a new generation bank in Ilara-Mokin, in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, killing three persons — a journalist, policeman and commercial motorcyclist.
Three other persons injured during the operation, which lasted for about 20 minutes, were rushed to the hospital, while the armed men carted away undisclosed amount of money.
An eyewitness explained that the victims ran into the armed robbers who opened fire on them, killing them instantly.
According to reports, one of the victims is a journalist, Bunmi Afuye, who was recently employed by the Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin.
The eyewitness said the okada rider and the Elizade University staff were passing by when they ran into the robbers while the operation was ongoing.
He, however, said the policeman was reported to have been killed by the dynamite.
The robbers were said to have broken the bullet-proof door of the bank with dynamite before they gained access into the banking hall.
One of the customers who were inside the bank when the armed robbers invaded explained that they [robbers] were about six and they arrived at the bank at about 3:00 p.m., shooting sporadically into the air to scare people.
He said: ” I was inside the bank when they [robbers] came; immediately, all of us lay down and they started shouting, asking for the manager.
“So they got the key to the vault and packed the money, but they were not satisfied with what they saw and they also opened the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), but there was no enough money there.
“That infuriated them and they shouted ‘where is the money’; it seems they didn’t get their target.
After they took the money, they went out angrily, shooting to escape from the scene.”
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Tee-Leo Ikoro, said a team of policemen had been deployed to the scene, while investigation had commenced.
