Armed robbers stormed the Sabo area of
Osogbo, Osun State on Thursday, carting away unspecified sum of money
after robbing some Hausa Bureau de Change operators. After the robbery, the robbers headed
towards Olaiya-Ogo-Oluwa area of the metropolis, which houses no fewer
than 10 banks, where they were confronted by the police guarding one of
the banks. But the robbers engaged the policemen, shooting a corporal in the leg.
The police mobilised, deploying more men to confront the hoodlums. The robbers were said to have fled when they realised that the police were determined to arrest them.
Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Kalafite Adeyemi, confirmed the incident, saying the police were on the trail of the robbers.
A police officer, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said, “When they saw the firepower and readiness of our men,
they fled through Gbonga Road, where they killed one of our men in a
patrol van at Gbongan junction.”
A customer, who was in one of the banks
during the gunfight, Miss Itunu Lawanson, said panic gripped everybody
in the banking hall.
Lawanson said, “Everybody ran
helter-skelter. Some people ran into toilets, some hid under tables as
gunfire crackled. Many hid under chairs and tables.”
After the pandemonium, which greeted the
duel died down, several police vehicles were deployed in the capital
city even as banks locked up for the day.
Many residents condemned the sporadic shooting by policemen in patrol vehicles after the robbers had fled.