A branch of Skye Bank Plc in Ifon  area of Ondo State was attacked on Thursday by a gang of armed robbers. The robbers killed two policemen attached to the bank and reportedly carted away an undisclosed amount of money.

The incident put a halt to social and commercial activities in the town for several minutes as residents living close to the bank ran helter-skelter to safety, while the robbery operation reportedly lasted for about 40 minutes.

The hoodlums numbering 15, stormed the bank at about 3pm when the branch had stopped transaction with customers. The robbers were said to have blown up the bullet-proof door of the bank with a substance suspected to be dynamite before gaining entrance.

The eyewitness explained that on entering the banking hall, some of the robbers packed all the money in the bank’s vault, while others engaged the policemen guarding the bank in a gun duel. It was gathered that stray bullets killed a yet-to-be identified man near the bank

The eyewitness said, “They came in three vehicles; they  were up to 15 in number. They were heavily armed. When they got to the bank, they could not enter because the bank had stopped attending to customers. So, they blew up the door with dynamite.

“For several minutes, they were shooting indiscriminately. Two of the policemen that engaged them were killed, but none of the robbers was killed during the shooting.”

The robbers ran away when other policemen deployed in the scene engaged them in gun fight.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident and said the command deployed more officers and men in the scene while another team, led by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Gbenga Adeyanju, went to the area after receiving the information.

He said, “It is unfortunate that we lost two of our men in the incident, but we are on the trail of the robbers. They went to the bank with sophisticated weapons, but our men still engaged them.
“The CP led the team from Akure to the scene. It was when they (robbers) knew that we were closing in on them that they ran away with bullet injuries.