UBA ..Photo courtesy Punch
Witnesses to the dare-devil robbery of United Bank for Africa, UBA, Issele Uku branch in Aniocha North local government of Delta State have continued to recount their ordeal many hours after the incident.
Well-armed robbers numbering over 15 had invaded the town on Tuesday, March 30 and split into groups with a group first visiting and sacking the Police station in the community. They were said to have used dynamite to blow up the station causing the cops on duty to scamper to safety.
A witness recounted his experience to our reporter thus: “I was standing adjacent to the bank by the busy Issele Uku market when I started hearing the sound of guns which was accentuated by booming and shattering sound of dynamites. Those were the robbers shooting at the police station. As if on cue, the robbers already by the bank started their own shooting, we all ran to take cover. They used dynamite to blow open the door. Some bank customers were still inside the banking hall when they started the operation.
“One of the customers later told us that when the robbers gained entry into the banking hall, they told everybody to cooperate otherwise there will be blood flow. They said they were university graduates like some of the bank staff but that they have to do this as there are no jobs in town.
“Then they started using more dynamites inside the bank, this time to blow open the vault which they succeeded in doing. They must have carted away scores of millions of naira. We were later told that the bank had just brought in money in a bullion van earlier that day.
The robbers kept shooting for over one hour that the operation lasted. I saw a woman among the robbers. She too was shooting. There was among them a man older than the rest. He was carrying their ammunition.
“They split into groups. One group was positioned at Issele Mkpitime junction, another group was shooting inside town may be to ensure that no reinforcement from security agents came.”
Asked why the police did not intervene, he said: “This is not a matter of police replying or repelling them. These robbers are better armed than our police. The kind of guns they had and the sound of the guns will tell you that this is beyond the police, he said.
No fewer than 3 people were feared killed in the robbery with many injured.
Recall that on August 15, 2013, the same bank was attacked by robbers, forcing a temporary closure of the bank.
