Robbers armed to the teeth laid siege on Auchi town, Edo State, on Monday, robbing almost all the banks in the town and blowing up the closest police station to the banks with grenades.
The robbers barricaded all entry and exit points of the town, which is located on the major road linking Benin to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Eyewitnesses reported that members of the group divided themselves into sub-groups to attack the various banks in town.
They then blew up a police station located a few distance from the banks, in an attack that saw the fleeing of the policemen on duty and the escape of many of the suspects in detention.
“As we speak now, Auchi is as silent as a graveyard, a resident of the town, an eyewitness who identified himself as Azeez Abudu told Huhuonline.com while the robbery was still on. “There is no noise anywhere except the endless sounds of guns. They were just shooting as if bullets were knockouts.”
Gladys Oshioremua, a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, said she was on her way when the robbers entered the town.
“When we first heard the sound of guns, we thought it was the Police testing their ammunition,” she recalled. “All of a sudden, people started running helter-skelter. In the confusion, I fell from the motorcycle taking me home. We had to run into a woman’s house on ICE Road and that is where I’m speaking from now. Please call the authorities to rescue this town, please.”
Jimah Aliyu, another resident of the town told Huhuonline.com that the situation was so tense that nobody was on the streets.
“I was outside my house on Igbe Road when we started to hear gunshots, and it was as if the shooters were behind our house. We also saw people running everywhere as if there was war; so I ran with some people into the house. Many people are currently taking cover at my place now. Nobody could even go out. Everyone was indoors. The robbers were scattered around the town.”
Areas of the town blocked by the robbers were ICE Road, Jattu Road, Olele Junction (at the heart of the town), Upper Garage and other strategic locations.
Some senior Police officers in the state who were called on phone neither answered nor returned the calls.
