Akire escapes death as gunmen detonate dynamite inside palace
BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Residents of Apomu and Ikire communities in Osun State have yet to recover fully from shock since Wednesday, June 2, when some daredevil robbery gangs reportedly stormed the Ikire Police Station, the Akire palace, and a commercial bank branch in Ikire and Apomu communities.
Although the Police claimed that seven people, including some policemen, were killed in the coordinated robbery attacks, some residents of the communities had argued that the number of casualties was more.
Many others were also reported to have sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Investigations by The Point’s correspondent, who visited the affected communities, revealed that the robbers had earlier notified the residents of the planned attacks.
A source informed our correspondent that the robbers had trailed a bullion van conveying cash to the banks.
The first gang of robbers were said to have struck at Ikoyi junction, in Apomu, near an Armoured Personnel Carrier, just as another gang reportedly attacked the Ikire Police Station. The robbery attacks were said to have taken place simultaneously at four different points in the two communities.
One of the bandits was said to have thrown an explosive suspected to be dynamite into the Akire palace during the operation but it was learnt that there was no casualty.
The Akire of Ikire, Oba Olatunde Falabi, was allegedly ferried to a safe place by the palace guards immediately the dynamite exploded.
Among the casualties in the robbery attacks were two community police officers attached to the Ayedaade Divisional headquarters in Ikire, who were said to have been hit by bullets alongside an Inspector, who was at the gate when the robbers breezed in.
Report had it that the robbers attacked the armoury of the Police station, carting away rifles and other weapons. They were also said to have unlocked the cells and freed some detainees.
An eyewitness in Ikoyi, who preferred anonymity, said the robbers took guns from the police station before heading for the bank operation. Some of the residents allegedly alerted local security comprising hunters, members of the Oodua Peoples Congress and the Amotekun operatives.
“What we have been able to learn is that we need to be proactive and vigilant. When there is any intelligence, we need to process it immediately”
A source near the Ikire branch of the commercial bank that was attacked said the robbery operation was unsuccessful as the robbers were unable to gain access to the vault of the bank before being repelled by a combined team of security operatives.
The robbers were said to have failed to attack a bullion van said to have ferried money to the bank. “The bullion van that brought money into the bank arrived after the robbers had fled the scene,” the source said.
It was learnt that the robbers arrived the police station around 6:00pm on a motorcycle with their weapons hidden in a sack.
An Inspector of Police was reported to have been shot alongside a Constabulary that was about to leave for home after the day’s job. Another constabulary who just resumed to duty was also reported to have been shot dead inside the station.
Our correspondent observed that the window and the ceiling of the station were riddled with bullets.
At Apomu, the robbers were allegedly prevented from gaining entrance into the bank as members of the OPC were said to have mounted stiff resistance. In the shootout that ensued, three civilians were reportedly shot dead, while a member of the OPC, named Kazeem Adeleke, was injured.
Relatives of the casualties of the attack were said to have come to request for the corpses of some of the deceased persons at the police station hours after the incident.
Former Chairman of Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State, Remi Abbas, while speaking with The Point, said combined efforts of youths and local security outfits had frustrated the operation.
He said, “Around 6:30pm, we began to hear gunshots and blasts of dynamites at four strategic points: They are the First Bank, Ikire; the Divisional Police Headquarters, Ikire; Access Bank, Apomu; and at the place where the Armoured Personnel Carrier is stationed in Ikoyi.
“Initially, we thought that it was a minor robbery attack, but the DPO said the station was under heavy attack. Almost about the same time, I was told that the palace was under attack. The Akire called to say that the palace and the First Bank were under attack. There and then, we mobilised the local hunters, the OPC, Agbekoya and the vigilante groups.
“Eight people were confirmed dead, of which there were three regular policemen, two personnel of the special Constabulary and three civilians. Myself and local hunters, numbering about 60, were in a meeting at the palace till around 6:25pm that day when I was called that the armed robbers had laid siege to the two towns.”
The Osun State Police Command said seven people, including two police officers and two constabularies, lost their lives in the attacks on the police station and the two banks.
A statement by the PPRO, Yemisi Opalola, read that some armed robbers numbering 35, at about 6:10pm on the fateful day, attacked two commercial banks in Ikire and Apomu.
The statement read that the robbers were repelled by the combined team of police operatives and local security personnel who forced them to flee into the bush.
It further read, “Armed robbers numbering about 35 came in about five vehicles, simultaneously attacked Ikire Divisional Police Headquarters and the Armoured Personnel Carrier pinned down at Ikoyi-Osun with several explosive devices and gun firing in a bid to subdue the capacity of the Police while attempting to rob First Bank, Ikire and Access Bank, Apomu respectively.
“It is unfortunate that ASP Osho Oluranti, Inspector Lekan Olalere, and two Special Constabularies; namely Oladeni Olalekan, and Oyedeji Muyideen, were shot dead in the process.
“On sighting the policemen comprising the Prompt Response Unit, CP’s Surveillance team, IRT Operatives, STS, 39 PMF, JTF, along with the local security outfits, the robbers began to flee. While escaping, they shot sporadically and regrettably three civilians were shot, namely: Toheeb Oyebola, Temilorun Adebiyi and one other, (whose identity is not yet known), all males.
“They did not succeed in robbing any of the banks. The assailants fled to the bush with gunshot wounds, abandoning two of the vehicles that they came with.”
It added that the remains of the victims had been deposited at the Oluyoro Catholic Hospital morgue, Apomu, stating that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing robbers.
Meanwhile, the Corps Commandant of the Osun Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, Brig.-Gen. Bashir Adewinmbi (retd), has disclosed that there was an intelligent report that the robbers had written to the two communities a few days before the attacks.
Adewinmbi explained that the bank robbery incident had taught the state security network to be more proactive, vigilant and to always work on intelligence.
“The armed robbers did not succeed in carting away the valuables because of the collective efforts of the police, local security and other security agencies.
“What we have been able to learn is that we need to be proactive and vigilant. When there is any intelligence, we need to process it immediately and there should always be thorough search of vehicles because the armed robbers came in about four vehicles for the operation. Nobody accosted them or asked them who they were,” he noted.
