Six persons including two police officers lost their lives as armed robbers, Thursday afternoon, attacked a bullion van at the Idi- Ape area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to police sources, the daredevil armed gang, believed to have acted on a tip-off, attacked the bullion van when it stopped before a traffic light.
The van was said to have come out from a commercial bank (name withheld) located around Testing Ground, Iwo-Road area in Ibadan, before the incident occurred.
The heavily armed robbers were said to have shot sporadically in the air, causing people to scamper for safety.
Two policemen attached to the bullion van were gunned down as they tried to repel the attack. A source claimed three other person were killed in the robbery incident.
ArmadaNews could not confirm if the robbers carted away cash. However a police officer confirmed the bullion van riddled with bullets had been taken to the State Police Command.
He said preliminary findings show the operation was carefully planned and executed, an indication that some insiders might have a hand in it.
He however promised to provide further details as investigation progresses even as he did not rule out insider connivance in the robbery operation.
The Police Officer said operatives attached to the anti-robbery unit commenced investigation immediately and would in the course of investigation, interrogate the bank’s staff on duty.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko, who visited the scene of the crime, confirmed the death of the two policemen. She also said that one of the robbers was also shot dead but the gang fled with his body.
Onadeko described the attack as “a well coordinated one”, and vowed that all exit points in Ibadan have been placed on red alert to prevent the fleeing suspects from escaping.
“It is a coordinated attack which we are still trying to find out what happened because they trailed the bullion van from where it went to get money to dispense it to the place.
“I can’t definitely say now what actually went wrong, we are trying our possible best to get them. Two of my men were shot in the leg, let us investigate and we will be able to give you more details”, the CP said.