The Benue State Police Department has confirmed that the Otukpo Divisional Police Officer, John Adikwu, and three other police officers were killed in a gun duel with bank robbers yesterday. The robbers also killed many other people inside and outside the bank.
The police spokesperson, SP Sewuese Anene, stated in a press release issued on a Saturday in October that a team of security reinforcements engaged in a gun battle with the bank robbers along the Otukpo/Taraku Federal Highway, resulting in the death of two of the robbers. Many others fled into the nearby forest.
SP Anene also emphasized that the police are actively pursuing the suspects in an effort to apprehend them.
According to a report by Channels Television, a tragic bank robbery in the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State on Friday resulted in the loss of ten lives. The audacious robbers conducted their operation for a span of two hours without encountering any opposition from security personnel.
Sources within Otukpo mentioned that the robbers arrived in significant numbers and targeted five commercial banks, with most of them situated opposite the Divisional Police Headquarters.
Meanwhile, Benue State’s governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, expressed strong condemnation of the armed robbery attacks. In a statement released by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alia, Tersoo Kulo, the governor characterized the robbery incident as a direct challenge to the state, particularly since it occurred at the precise moment when the Security Council meeting was underway at Government House Makurdi.
The Governor extended his condolences to the families of the victims who were brutally killed by the robbers during the heinous crime.