Addressing newsmen at the bank premises on Wednesday 31st March 2021, the member representing Aniocha north State Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly (DTHA), Hon. Engr. Emeka Nwaobi, disclosed that six persons were casualties of the bank attack.
“So far, the report I have was that in the course of the incident, about four people were shot dead. Not right in the bank here but somewhere along the street and after the operations when they have left and the police and the Anioma Security went after them in the bush, they shot down two persons.
“A policeman and the leader of Anioma Security. So, at the moment, these are the ones I am aware of while further information will possibly come subsequently”, he said.
Asked why the bandits gained access and operated freely unhindered, the lawmaker said: “The easy access was because they were in possession of arms. They gained access and they were able to operate the way they did because they were fully armed and the people on the other side were not having arms on them, they were handicapped. So, that was why they gained access.
“But like I said before, the security architecture of the entire area needs to be looked into and further fortified so that when such a thing happens, there will be resistance no matter how little”, he said.
He commended the deceaseds and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for their doggedness in going after the armed robbers.
“But I also want to give kudos to the DPO and his team and of course, Anioma Security. From information, they were the ones who chased them when they left into the bush where they shot dead one of the policemen and the leader of Anioma Security.
“That was very patriotic of them to have gone that far to follow up the culprits even right inside the bush. So, I commend their efforts while we solicit further strategies to ensure that the security network around this area is stronger than what it is.
“The damage done is a colossal one. What happened is just inexplicable, we can’t explain it. Incidentally, this is not the first time it is happening. They have attacked this bank a number of times in the past.
“I think what has happened here is a challenge to the entire Delta State and I am sure the entire security agents are putting things in place to ensure this kind of thing does not happened again.
“And if any thing of that happened, they will be able to combat and apprehend the culprits. I have gone to see the leader of Anioma Security that was shot yesterday. O have gone to see the DPO who was also attacked during the incident and the entire police office was shattered with dynamite and gunshots.
“So, I want to believe that going forward the bank from the headquarters will work out a modality of security strategy to safeguard this place while also the police and other security agencies will also put their heads together to further strategize to make sure such a thing never happened again”, he added.
