The branch of Access Bank Plc. on Oyemekun/Adesida Road in Akure was on Sunday afternoon gutted by fire.
Although the cause of the fire, which started from the ground floor of the bank building, has yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report, it was gathered that the fire could be as a result of an electric surge.
The bank is formerly known as Intercontinental Bank Plc. before its recent acquisition by Access Bank.
A security guard, who first noticed the fire, promptly alerted senior officers of the bank, who arrived at the place some minutes later.
Some sympathisers and bank officials who were at the scene watched helplessly, as they could not gain entrance into the bank’s building because Sunday is not a working day.
Policemen, who were invited to prevent hoodlums from looting the bank, were seen at the gate to the bank’s premises, preventing people from coming into the premises.
A senior official of the bank, who initially contacted the Fire Brigade office at Ado-Owo Road, was told by the firefighters that their vehicles had been taken to a mechanic’s workshop for repairs.
The fire was, however, put off by firemen deployed from the Akure Airport.
When contacted, Mr Adeniran Aremu, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ondo State, said that the bank had been cordoned off to prevent hoodlums from taking advantage of the situation.
He gave the assurance that the causes of the fire would be investigated.?