Gunmen suspected to be armed robbers have invaded Nasarawa State Ministry of Finance, Budget, and Planning in Lafia, and carted away the sum of N100 million at gunpoint.
The incident took place adjacent to the state Accountant General’s Office, where an array of security operatives was on guard for the state Accountant General.
Read Also:Marwa Promotes Officers, Orders Them To Crush All Drug Cartels
An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, said that the assailants trailed some members of staff who went to a commercial bank to withdraw some cash for the ministry.
The eyewitness said, “It was in the Ministry’s premises that the well-armed gunmen snatched the N100 million from the Finance Ministry’s officials while trying to dislodge the cash from the vehicle that was conveying it to the Cash Room.
“In the process of snatching the amount of money, the gunmen shot sporadically in the air that the Ministry’s officials carrying the money and other staff of the Ministry within the premises lay down low paving the way for the gunmen to snatch the N100 million,” the eyewitness narrated.
The eyewitness also said that while the robbery was successful without any hitches was that the Ministry does not engage the services of security agencies in carrying out its activities.
“Officials of the Ministry wouldn’t want to expend the Ministry’s resources on security operatives hence they neglected services of security agencies in the day-to-day running of the Ministry,” a source told Daily Independent.
The State Commissioner for Finance, Budget, and Planning, Haruna Ogbole, confirmed the robbery incident but added that investigations were ongoing to apprehend the culprits.