Armed robbers attacked a military patrol van and made away with an unspecified number of bags loaded with cash after killing one soldier and causing the rest of the uniformed men to flee for their dear lives in Nigeria.
The fatal incident is reported to have occurred on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, in the country’s Edo State.
According to Pulse.ng, the armed robbers allegedly ambushed the military van carrying at least three soldiers at the traffic lights along Akpakpava Road by First Junction around 2.10 p.m.
The bandits are reported to have been driving an unmarked Toyota Camry against oncoming traffic and into the path of the military vehicle before two of the four occupants disembarked and began firing on the soldiers. The three soldiers became helpless and had to flee, leaving their patrol car and the sacks containing the cash behind.
“One of the three soldiers fell while running away, he tried to get up, but he couldn’t, he was bleeding. Later, his two other colleagues came to meet him but they were helpless,” Pulse.ng quotes an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity as saying.
A police investigation has begun into the incident with hopes of arresting the perpetrators to answer for the crime.
“The Edo State Police Command can confirm that a soldier was killed on Wednesday in Benin City.
“A good Nigerian reported the incident at the police station covering that neighbourhood. The hoodlums carted away bags believed to have been loaded with cash kept inside the Army van,” Edo Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Chidi Nwabuzor said.
Interestingly, two days after the incident, the 4 Brigade Nigerian Army headquarters in the Edo State capital, Benin City could not confirm to Pulse.ng if it indeed occurred. Public Relations Officer (PRO), Captain Yusuf Sokoya said he was going to gather information about it but did not revert.
Source: ANDREAS KAMASAH