The Benue State government has vowed to ensure that perpetrators of the Otukpo banks robbery and their collaborators are apprehended and brought to book.
The Deputy Governor, Dr. Sam Ode, gave the assurance on Saturday in Otukpo when he visited the Och’Idoma palace to commiserate with him and the people of Otukpo over the incident.
This was contained in a statement on Sunday signed by Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Ior Ikyereve and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi.
Ode who also hails from Otukpo Local Government Area condemned the coordinated armed robbery attacks on banks in Otukpo town that left 9 people dead, including four Police officers.
After the visit to the Och’Idoma Palace, he led government delegation to the scenes of the robbery attacks to appraise the situation on ground.
Addressing a mammoth crowd, Ode, on behalf of the Benue State Government heartily commiserates with the deceased families and the entire Idoma nation.
He said the Government was not going to rest until those who killed the Otukpo Divisional Police Officer (DPO), three other officers and five others during Otukpo banks robbery are arrested and prosecuted.
He said the incident was a wake-up call, since security of lives and property cannot be left in the hands of only the security agents, citizens must be willing to provide timely information to security personnel to forestall such callous acts of criminality.
“The Government of Benue is in tears over the sad incident that occurred yesterday. This level of bloodletting is such that has never been witnessed in this land in the past.
“The Governor of Benue State, His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has directed me and the security agents to come and do an appraisal of the situation on the ground so that we can go back and brief him for further action.” he said
In his remarks, the och’Idoma, HRM Elaigwu Odogbo, vowed that whoever was found involved in the heinous act would face the full wrath of the law.
The Och’ Idoma appreciated the State Government and the security agencies for their efforts and called for the deployment of more security personnels to the zone to assuage palpable fear of his subjects.
In their separate speeches, heads of security agencies in the state, promised to continue to give priority to security issues and called on residents to always support and provide security agents with useful and timely information whenever they see suspicious movement within their locality.
The Deputy Governor and his team thereafter, visited Royal Specialist Hospital and General Hospital all in Otukpo town and interacted with victims, receiving treatment for various degrees of injuries.
The statement stated that the robbers numbering about 30, on Friday arrived the town on motorbikes and snatched ‘operational’ vehicles from residents, and immediately attacked Otukpo Divisional Police Station and the banks.
The Police Command in Benue listed the affected banks to include: “Access Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Stanbic Bank Plc.
The Command also disclosed that the armed robbers were intercepted along Otukpo-Taraku road, adding that Police engaged them in a gun battle and killed two of them in the process.
They also said that the robbers during the interception abandoned their vehicles and run into the bush where they are still being trailed.
According to reports, tge robbers who wore black masks robbed five banks during their operation that lasted for over 2hrs.