Yesterday’s bank robbery attacks were led by a woman- Eyewitnesses

People who witnessed the dare devil robbery at 2
banks at Ikorodu yesterday said the incident was led
by a lady.
A bank official, who narrated how the robbery took
place, said the ecstasy displayed by the robbers was
only comparable to “what you see when a footballer
scores a decisive goal.”
As some of the gang members held everyone in
bank hostage while looting additional cash from
the strong room, others were doing the same at
the First Bank branch in the area.
Satisfied with their bounty, the gunmen stormed
out and challenged policemen, whose station is
opposite the First Bank branch, to confront them.
Even though no policeman was in sight, they
displayed more bravado by setting three Sports
Utility Vehicles which they drove to the banks, on
fire. Before this, they had removed the number plates
of the vehicles.
A young lady was said to have led the over one
hour attacks which bore semblance of the March
12 robbery in Lekki, Lagos.
Four persons, including a teenage apprentice
vulcaniser, simply identified as Rilwan, were
injured by the robbers who fled through a jetty in
the area.
It was learnt that the bandits, numbering about 16
invaded the banks, located directly opposite the
Ipakodo Police Division, at about 9am and started
shooting indiscriminately.
They were said to have opened fire at the police
station to scare the officers, after which they
proceeded with their operation.
It was also learnt that the robbers used dynamite
to shatter the rotor doors of the two banks to gain
entrance and order members of staff and their
customers to lie down.
It was gathered that some of the gunmen were
outside the banks firing into the air for over an
hour.
Some security operatives, comprising policemen
and soldiers, arrived the area around 1.30pm after
the robbers had fled.
Punch correspondent, who visited the Ikorodu
General Hospital, where the injured victims were
taken to, met an employee of the Zenith Bank
and a customer,who gave his name simply as
Segun.
The banker (name withheld) and Segun sustained
injuries after hitting their heads on glasses while
the teenage vulcaniser and the fourth victim, an
okada (motorcycle) rider, were hit by stray bullets.
The bank official narrated the incident to
sympathisers and our correspondent who found
his way into the hospital.
He said the robbers carted away over N80m from
Zenith Bank which “a bullion van was to transport
out of the bank.”
The banker said:
“They shouted, ‘open the door, open the door’,
but none of us answered them. Suddenly, we
heard an explosion and the glass went down. I
was wounded by broken glasses.
“One of them entered and when he saw about
N20m that we had arranged to put inside our
ATMs, he shouted, ‘ Area, Zico see money. See
money wey we dey look for.’ He
starteddancing. He pulled a lady among us
and ordered her to pack the money inside the
bags they brought. After packing the money,
the robbers ordered her to lead them to the
strong room.
“When the lady opened the strong room, the
robber that shouted in the ATM room
exclaimed again, ‘Eheeeee, Area, Zico give me
bags! Give me bags. Come and see money
wey we dey look for. They packed everything
in the strong room; more than N60m. We were
expecting a bullion van to move the money
before the incident happened.”
Segun, said,
“I was at the ATM section of the Zenith Bank
to withdraw money. Suddenly, there were
gunshots. Two of the gunmen came in and
one of them threw me on the floor. He wanted
to shoot, but his colleague told him to leave
me.”
Ikechukwu Oyenso, who witnessed the
incident said,
“I was at the First Bank at exactly 9am to use
the ATM. It was my turn when we suddenly
heard gunshots. I saw two of the robbers
shooting directly at the police station and the
policemen ran away.
“Some gunmen came into the First Bank. A
guy stood outside and two entered the bank.
“They used dynamite to destroy the door of
the bank. They entered the banking hall and
ordered everybody to lie down. These guys
looked young. They were dressed in black and
they wore caps. They did not use masks. They
robbed for over an hour. It was terrible.”
Another eyewitness, Ademola Fashola, who said
he hid somewhere around the jetty area while the
robbers escaped narrated this:
“I came to withdraw money from the First
Bank ATM, but I changed my mind and headed
for Ipakodo, near the jetty. I was there when I
heard the gunshots. After they had robbed the
banks, the gang leader, a woman, walked
while their cars moved towards the Origin
Gardens (the jetty area). She dared the police
to come out and ordered her gang members
not to shoot anybody. She is not up to 20
years. I saw five of them. They dragged the
bags that contained the money inside the
jetty. I heard one of them calling somebody to
pick them. He was shouting ‘Taofeeq, Taofeek,
come and pick us now’.”
An eye witness that went by the name Saheed
said,
“Where I hid, I saw them carrying bags of
money into the jetty. That short woman held
the gun, while another guy took the money
inside the jetty. When they were about to
escape, they removed the number plates of
their three cars, poured fuel on them and shot
at one of them, which erupted in flames.
“Along that waterfront are naval officers.
Where were they then?”
Source: Punch