Robbers attack Intercontinental Bank, Sharp Electronics shop

Armed gangs in two separate incidents attacked a branch of Intercontinental Bank and a Sharp Electronics shop in Lagos on Friday.

There were no casualties in both attacks, though police sources said one suspect was arrested.

Residents of Ayobo, for an hour and a half, were at the mercy of the armed robbers, who operated unhindered. When GidiGlobe visited the bank’s branch, armed policemen had sealed off the premises, while the rails on the fence were barricaded with corrugated iron sheets to conceal the extent of the damage on the building.

One of the residents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The robbers came in three mini buses armed with sophisticated weapons. They blew up a part of the building with their bombs (dynamites) and thereafter tried to break into the vault and ATM machines with the dynamites.
“It was terrible; each time a dynamite went off, windows would rattle and houses would shake. The only incident I can compare to it was the Ikeja cantonment bomb blasts.”

The source claimed that all through the attack, no help came from the police. “No policeman came here while everything lasted. They operated freely for over an hour. I later learnt they robbed some homes because they couldn’t get anything from the vault,” the source said.

After the robbery, several police patrol vehicles kept watch at the bank, while an Armoured Personnel Carrier was stationed close by.

In another incident, an armed gang attacked a Sharp Electronics shop at Opebi, Lagos, at about 10 am.

It was learnt that the bandits had entered the shop under the pretence of buying goods.

An eyewitness said, “The robbers came in a car; they were about eight in number. Immediately their leader, who was an elderly man, shot twice into the ceiling of the shop, the rest came out of the car shooting sporadically into the air. The police didn’t show up until the robbers had left. They robbed some customers in the shop when they didn’t get any money in the electronics shop.’’

The spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, confirmed both incidents.

Mba said, “At about 1 am, an armed gang attacked a branch of Intercontinental Bank at Ayobo, but was repelled by the men of the command. Though the security men at the bank were overpowered by the robbers, no lives were lost. Dynamites were used on the two ATMs and on the bank vault in a bid to cart away money, but the attempts were unsuccessful as the robbers fled when they were confronted by policemen.

“There was also a foiled robbery attempt at Opebi this morning. Preliminary police investigation has shown that a huge sum of money in foreign denominations had been left overnight in the shop. Unknown to the robbers, the cashier had reported to work early this morning and had taken the money to the bank.

“Though the robbers escaped, we have a suspect in custody and investigation has since commenced. Lagosians have nothing to panic about.”

A source in the command told SATURDAY PUNCH that a number of APCs would be deployed in border towns in the state to prevent the influx of armed robbers from neighbouring states.

The source claimed that policemen from Ayobo division could not immediately respond to the distress call at Ayobo because a gang of armed robbers stationed there attacked them. “It was policemen from Ipaja who were able to make it to the bank first before those from Ayobo later arrived,” he said.