A 10-man armed robbery gang yesterday stormed Ikole Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti and raided a first generation bank.
Two policemen were reported to have been shot at a check-point by the armed robbers who invaded the town via Itapaji-Ikole highway.
It was confirmed that none of the policemen died on the spot as they were quickly rushed to an undisclosed hospital for medical attention.
Other policemen were reported to have immediately fled into the bush upon sighting two of their colleagues in the pool of their blood.
After shooting the two policemen, the robbers, it was learnt, made their way to the bank and carted away unspecified amount of money in an operation that lasted for about 40 minutes.
According to an impeccable source, large amount of money was said to have been moved into the Bank on Tuesday evening, which some people said was not unconnected with the invasion.
Passers-by and market men and women were said to have deserted the major streets of the town and stayed indoors as the robbers shot sporadically into the air to scare people.
The robbers, who had a field day while the operation lasted, did not encounter any serious resistance from any of the arms of the security agents, as they continued to shoot indiscriminately into the air while escaping out of the town in two cars.
The situation made most of the Banks operating in Ado Ekiti, the State Capital, to hurriedly closed shops and stopped their customers from gaining entry into their halls.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Ekiti State Police Command, Mr Jimoh Mohammed confirmed the incident when contacted on phone.
Jimoh, an Assistant Superintendent of Police said, “Two of the policemen were shot and are now receiving medical treatment in the hospital”.
He said the Command is on the trail of the hoodlums, while assuring that security will be beefed up across the State to forestall a recurrence of such incident.