Commercial banks in three towns in Edo State have come under serious attacks by armed robbers in recent times, leaving the customers with tales of woes. PATRICK OCHOGA, who has been following the spate of attacks, reports on the deadly raids.
Sporadic gun fire is no longer strange to the inhabitants of these towns- Irrua ,Uromi and Ekpoma communities, all in Edo Central Senatorial District of Edo State. Perhaps, the inhabitants have now conditioned themselves to the menace being posed to them by hoodlums. Their daily lives have come to be defined by tears, blood and sorrow because of the frequency and ease with which armed gangs wreak havoc in the affected towns and get away unmolested.
The alarming incidents of armed robbery have become so many that many people? in the affected towns have resorted to self help, having lost faith in the law enforcement agents who have often been beaten to the game each time the robbers strike. The story is scandalous: most often, policemen are maimed, killed and left by the roadside, while in some cases, they manage to escape as the robbers’ bullets begin to rent the air, in the areas that have now become very notorious and vulnerable to both natives and visitors, who are doing business there. In all of these cases, the target of the robbers remains the commercial banks, which have taken the risk to open their branches in the semi-urban areas.
One recurring trend of the attacks on the banks is that security agents often arrive the scene to interrogate the victims shortly after the robbers might have struck and left with their loot, leaving many tongues wagging. Bank workers, their customers and passers-by have so far paid dearly for the numerous assaults that have been unleashed on the banks so far by the gangsters.
In one of the deadly attacks, which has left the residents wondering what struck them, the robbers stormed one of the banks on the premises of the the Ambrose Alli University (AAU) community in Ekpoma and killed two persons before fleeing with unspecified sum of money. They also wounded several persons before leaving. As in all other cases, the police did not challenge the hoodlums, when they struck at the premises.
The owners of the banks were worried that robbers still struck them despite the presence of police stations opposite them. Three of the banks adjacent the police stations were the latest victims of robbery incidents in the town and they are hard put to explain why the police could not halt the assault on them. A native of Uromi, recall that in one of the attacks, the robbers were so brazen in their operation that the police on duty in the besieged bank had to escape. “It took the personal intervention of a top politician in the area, who sent in his security details to dislodge the robbers before we could heave a sigh of relief,” said one of the native of the town.
LEADERSHIP WEEKEND also learnt that hoodlums in the same Edo Central senatorial district now sent text messages to bank managers and police officers notifying them of their intention to attack banks in their domains.
“Surprisingly, the armed robbers after sending text messages to bank managers and the police carry out their operations without any resistance from security personnel.”
“The last robbery in one of the commercial banks in Uromi lasted for over one hour without any security personnel intervening. It is very unfortunate and unbelievable that this sort of a thing is happening in Nigeria, our great country in the 21st century,” Uvie James, who lives in the town lamented.
But there seems to be no letdown on the ferocity and frequency of raids on these banks. While some of the banks have adopted some stringent security measures to contain the attacks, such are now beginning to take a toll on them and their customers.
Because of the fear of attacks by robbers, most of the account owners have been compelled to travel to Benin, the State Capital for transactions that were previously undertaken in the local branches.
The banks have also reviewed their operations in the affected towns with a view to escaping the robbers’ weapons of death. Under the new measures recently put in place, all the new generation banks now open to customers from noon, as opposed to the normal banking hours of 8am to 4pm. It has become customary for the embattled bank customers to be queuing up as early as 8am until the banks open their doors shortly after midday to attend to them.
Although it is paying off somehow, the arrangement is not convenient for the customers. Others have resorted to using their Automated Teller Machines cards to withdraw money from their banks rather than wait for the banks’ new arrangement, which they consider as punitive and unrealistic. “Time is money and we cannot continue to wait for the banks because of their security concerns,” one of the customers said.
Imade Omoluyi, who is one of the customers of the affected banks that has recently adjusted its opening hour from 8am to midday, described the new arrangement as uncomfortable and a quick descent to the past.
“We should be making progress rather than retrogressing, he said. As a way out of the crisis, the natives have called on Governor Adams Oshiomhole, to deploy more security men to the affected towns to check the nefarious activities of armed robbers there and restore the faith of the people on the police and the banking institution.
The Public Relations Officer for the Edo State Police Command, Mr. Peter Ogboi, has however assured that the police are doing something to check the level of insecurity in the affected communities. How soon that happens, will bring the needed sense of security to the people and restore the cordiality between them and the law enforcement agencies, a trust that had since taken a flight.