Armed robbers moving on power bikes accosted a bouillon van loaded with a huge amount of currency at the Ijora Badia area of Lagos yesterday.
The robbers took control of the vehicle on Marine bridge after shooting sporadically in the air to scare away motorists and residents of the area.
The gunshots however alerted the Divisional Police Officer, Apapa, Usman Ndanbabo, and policemen from the Area B Command who engaged the robbers in a shoot out after they came upon a traffic snarl.
A Navy personnel and two civilians were injured in the shootout whilst one of the robbers was shot dead. Another robber was arrested.
Lagos Police Command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide said other robbers were shot but managed to escape with their injuries.
Braide said, “The DPO of Apapa Division was informed of the gunfire around Ijora Badia Bridge and dispatched a team of anti-robbery policemen. The robbers opened fire on the policemen and our men retaliated. One of the robbers was killed, another arrested, while the others escaped with bullet wounds.
“A yellow unregistered power bike, with the inscription, Apache Hipar, was recovered from the robbers as well as two Ak-47 rifles with double magazine each loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition.
“Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects but normalcy has returned to the area.”
Polce suspect that the armed robbers form part of the same gang that killed three policemen two weeks ago.
A Police source said, “You may recall that two weeks ago, five policemen on patrol were shot and three of them died while two survived after the robbers on a bike opened fire on their vehicle. One of the surviving policemen gave us information and from what we put together, it is highly possible that it is the same gang.”