Police explain how 25 gunmen invaded bank, station in Isanlu – killed 8 policemen

A branch of First Bank Nigeria, in Isanlu, Yagba East Local government area of Kogi state was brutally attacked by armed robbers on Thursday, with no estimate of the loot announced yet, police said eight of its officers were killed in the attack.

The Bank is the only commercial bank in the town which is more than 150km away from Lokoja the state capital

The bloody heist is the first major robbery recorded in the country since the COVID-19 lockdown was eased on May 4. It has been likened to the bloody Offa robbery attack of April 4, 2018, carried out in four commercial banks and led to the death of 33 people in Offa local government area of Kwara State.

Eyewitnesses say the criminals started their operation around 2pm. After arriving the town, they divided themselves into two groups, a group proceeded to the police station while the other group went to the bank and carried out simultaneous attacks.

Williams Ovya, the spokesperson of the Kogi State Police Command in a statement sent to Neusroom, confirmed the incident and said the thieves numbering about 25 invaded the Isanlu town and simultaneously attacked the First Bank Branch and the Police Station with AK47 rifles and dynamites to gain access to the facilities on Thursday afternoon.

Two days before the attack, the Kogi state police command, on Tuesday, had said it gunned down two notorious armed robbers and kidnap kingpins who have been terrorizing Idah Local government area of the state and its environs.

In the past years, the Obajana – Kabba road, Okene – Kabba road, Okene – Lokoja road and Itakpe – Adogo road in Kogi state have become some of the most notorious kidnapping and robbery hotbeds in Nigeria. Travellers along those routes always commute in fear

The Police statement said “eight Police Officers lost their lives among which were two Women Police Officers while others sustained various degrees of injuries. The injured Officers were taken to the Hospital for treatment while the corpses were deposited at the Mortuary”.

Ovya added that the Police Commissioner has directed the deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and led a team of Officers comprises of Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit, Tactical and Operational Officers as well as Homicide team to the scene for on the spot assessment and “comb the area as well as to reassure the residents of the Commands’ determination to ensure their safety”.

First Bank Nigeria in a Twitter statement on Friday did not state if any of its staff were among the casualties, but said it is saddened by the incident and looking onto the authorities to apprehend the culprits who committed the heinous crime.

“We understand that the lives of some of our gallant policemen were lost in the incidence that took place at Isanlu-Yagba station,” the statement read. “Our sympathy goes to the families that lost their loved ones and we thank the police force for their commitment in safeguarding our society.”

Isanlu town gained national prominence in 2007 when TY Bello dedicated her song ‘Ekundayo’ to Mama Janet Ekundayo a selfless social worker who ran the Ekundayo Children’s Home, in Isanlu Makutu, where she cared for orphans and abandoned kids.