Three persons have reportedly lost their lives in a gun battle during a coordinated operation by the Nigerian Police and Military, as they foiled a planned 15-man bank robbery operation at the First Bank PLC in Abaji, Abuja on Thursday.
A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, on Friday, noted that after receiving a distress call at about 5:00 PM, the FCT police, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Benneth Igwe in a combined operation with the military, mobilized to the scene, and repelled the attack simultaneously carried out on both Abaji Divisional Police headquarters, and the bank by the armed men, who attacked with dynamites in attempt to rob the bank.
The statement added that the security forces engaged the armed robbers in an intense gun duel, forcing them to scamper to safety with various degrees of bullet wounds.
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“The gun duel led to the apprehension of three suspects, namely, Usman (surname yet unknown), who was reported to be the gang leader, Nuhu Musa, 41; and Muhammed Aminu, 25, with grave degrees of bullet injuries.
“A yet-to-be-identified suspect was said to have been set ablaze by an irate mob at the scene, after being neutralised by the security forces.
“One of the police operatives and the gang leader hit by bullets during the gun duel, were rushed to the hospital.
“They were later confirmed dead by the doctor on duty, while others are still receiving treatment,” the statement read.
It added that while a search operation is ongoing to apprehend fleeing suspects with bullet injuries, CP Igweh lauded the effectiveness of the combined operation, and reaffirmed the command’s unflinching commitment to ensuring that FCT remains inhabitable for criminals, noting that the safety of the residents of FCT is non-negotiable.
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