Three persons have been declared dead after a combination of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and the military foiled an attempted robbery at a First Bank branch in the Abaji area of Abuja on Thursday.
The spokesperson of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, who revealed this in a statement on Friday, said the armed robbers numbered no fewer than 15 men.
“After receiving a distress call at about 5:00 PM, the FCT police, led by the Commissioner, CP Benneth Igweh, in a combined operation with the military, mobilised to the scene, and repelled the attack simultaneously carried out on both Abaji Divisional Police headquarters, and the bank by the armed men, who attacked with dynamites in attempt to rob the bank,” Adeh said.
“The security forces engaged the armed robbers in an intense gun duel, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet wounds.
“The gun duel led to the apprehension of three suspects, namely, Usman (surname yet unknown), who is the gang leader, Nuhu Musa, 41; and Muhammed Aminu, 25, with grave degrees of bullet injuries.”
The statement added that a yet-to-be-identified suspect was set ablaze by an irate mob at the scene, after being neutralised by the security forces.
One of the police operatives and the gang leader were also hit by bullets during the gun battle but they were rushed to the hospital.
The two were later confirmed dead by the doctor on duty, while others are still receiving treatment.
“While a search operation is ongoing to apprehend fleeing suspects with bullet injuries, CP Igweh lauded the effectiveness of the combined operation,” the statement read.
“He also reaffirmed the command’s unflinching commitment to ensuring that FCT remains inhabitable for criminals, noting that the safety of the residents of Abuja is non-negotiable.”
