From Abiola Alo, Ado Ekiti
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A bank robbery operation that occurred in Igede Ekiti, in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State has claimed two lives.

An old generation bank in the town was attacked by a seven-man armed robbery gang at about 5.50pm on Wednesday evening, with a private security guard and an official of the bank killed in the process

Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, Mr Caleb Ikechukwu, revealed that the guard, who was shot in the head died within the premises of the bank while the injured staff died in the hospital.

Ikechukwu said the robbers flee the scene after the police engaged them in a shootout which ultimately botched their operations.

The PPRO added that the robbers had made efforts to escape through Ilawe-Igede road but later drove into the thick forest between the two towns.

He said the expansive forest has been rounded up by the police and that his men are combing the bush in search of the robbers.

Ikechukwu said more men had been deployed in banks to curtail the men of the underworld across the state .

“The robbers would have done more havoc than they did, but for prompt action taken by our men. There was exchange of gunshots between the bandits and our personnel. They tried their best to manage the

situation.

“It is true that two persons were killed during the bank operation. The operation was regrettable and the death of the two persons was painful .

“The command is stepping up its intelligence gathering skill and operation. As a temporary measure, we are going to deploy more men in banks to make the place safe for staff and customers.

“If you are on ground in Igede now, more men have been deployed, particularly the mobile police unit. We are doing same across the state.

“As we speak, our Criminal Investigation  Bureau (CIB) and State Intelligence Investigation Department (SIID) have drafted their men for intelligence gathering while mobile policemen are  on road and other critical areas”.

Ikechukwu urged members of the public to go about their normal businesses, assuring that the police are on top of the situation.

The robbers were said to have attacked the bank in a Gestapo-like manner by blowing up the Automated Tellers Machine (ATM) with bullets , which caused panic within the vicinity of the bank.

Eye witness revealed that the robbers actually gained entry into the banking hall before being resisted by the police, saying no one could ascertain whether money was carted away or not.

“We know a bank staff and a guard were killed, but we can’t say much about their identities”, he added.