A bullion van thief was shot and killed by the Abia State Police Command on Tuesday in the Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of the state, near the Ntigha junction along the Port Harcourt/Enugu expressway.
According to SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, the state’s police public relations officer,
“Six mobile policemen attached to 28 PMF Umuahia and Counter Terrorist Unit Base 4 Aba, while escorting a bullion van conveying cash from one new generation commercial bank in Aba to Umuahia, suddenly ran into a blockade/ambush mounted by armed robbers.
“The armed robbers opened fire at the van which forced its driver to swerve into the bush where the Bank Cash Officer was shot dead by the hoodlums while the driver escaped.
“During the gun duel that ensued between the police escorts and the hoodlums, one of the hoodlums was neutralised and his AK 47 rifle with ammunition laden in three magazines strapped together was recovered.”
The PPRO did, however, reveal that three of the escort men had been shot and had been taken to the hospital.
Both the body of the hoodlum who had been neutralized and the corpse of the deceased bank employees were deposited at the morgue.
Therefore, the Police Command issued a public call to action urging members of the public and owners of medical institutions both inside and outside the state to report any person observed or presented with suspected gunshot wounds to the police or any other security agency.
