An attack on a First Bank PIc branch and the headquarters of a police division in the Abaji Area Council was thwarted on Thursday by agents of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command and their military allies. On Thursday, the police divisional headquarters and the bank were reportedly attacked simultaneously by the armed robbers. It was said that the 15 armed robbers used dynamites to harm their victims. Three of the armed robbers were killed in a ferocious gunfight between the crooks and security personnel who had been sent to the area.
Three thieves were taken into custody and several left the scene injured, according to a statement released on Friday by Josephine Adeh, the spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory command. She named the people who had been arrested as Muhammad Aminu, Nuhu Musa, and Usman (last name not yet revealed). Adeh continued, saying that when the security officers neutralised the unidentified suspect, a mob at the scene lit the suspect on fire.
The statement said, “The FCT police, led by Commissioner of Police CP Benneth Igweh, himself, mobilised to the scene and repelled the attack simultaneously carried out on both Abaji Divisional Police headquarters and First Bank Plc in Abaji by a group of 15 armed men who attacked with dynamites in attempt to rob the bank.” This was in response to an armed robbery incident at First Bank Plc in Abaji on June 13, 2024, at about 5pm.
“The security forces engaged the armed robbers in an intense gun duel, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet wounds, as the security forces succeeded in apprehending three suspects, namely, Usman (surname yet unknown), who was reported to be the gang leader, Nuhu Musa, 41 ‘m’ of Kogi State; and Muhammed Aminu, 25 ‘m’ of Abaji, with grave degrees of bullet injuries, while a yet-to-be-identified suspect was set ablaze by an irate mob at the scene after being neutralised by the security forces.” She mentioned that a policeman who was shot during the procedure was brought to the hospital, where it was determined he was dead.
According to Adeh, “One police operative and the gang leader hit by a bullet during the gun duel, were rushed to the hospital, and the doctor on duty confirmed them dead, while others are still receiving treatment.”The commissioner of police FCT praises the success of the combined operation and reiterates the command’s unwavering commitment to making sure that FCT stays livable for criminals, noting that the safety of the residents of FCT is non-negotiable while a search operation is underway to apprehend fleeing suspects with bullet injuries.”