* Death toll rises, Police confirm Otukpo DPO, 3 officers killed
* Robbery gang abandon vehicles, 2 killed in gun battle
Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP John Adikwu, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Otukpo and three other police officers lost their lives in the deadly Friday afternoon Daylight bank robbery in Otukpo town.
The Benue State Police Command confirmed this information.
DopeReporters recalls that heavily armed men in two Hilux vans and a car attacked commercial banks in the town with explosives, killing several persons including police personnel, vigilante members and a Local Government Councillor after which they carried away several millions of naira from the banks.
The Command in statement issued Saturday by its Public Relations Officer, Superintendent, SP, Catherine Anene disclosed that security personnel who chased after the gang, successfully intercepted them along the Otupko-Taraku road where they abandoned their vehicles and escaped into the forest after two of them were gunned down in the gun battle that ensued.
The statement read: “On October 20, 2023 at about 4:15pm, armed robbers invaded the Access bank, First bank, Zenith bank, UBA and Stanbic bank in Otukpo simultaneously.
“The Otukpo Divisional Police Officer, CSP. John Adikwu and other Police teams in the area engaged them in a gun dwell but were unable to prevent their attack on the banks.
“More Police teams in collaboration with other security agents were deployed to Otukpo to assist in stabilizing the area and preventing these robbers from escaping.
“The robbers who were intercepted along Otukpo-Taraku road engaged officers in a gun duel and two of the robbers died in the process. Other gang members abandoned their vehicles and escaped into the forest area and were being chased by the police.
“The DPO who sustained a gunshot injury on his stomach and three other police officers have been confirmed dead at the hospital. Other persons who sustained injuries in the bank have been moved to the hospital for treatment. Investigation is ongoing at the moment.”
