Osun: 4 killed in Iwo multiple bank robbery [DETAILS]

Tragedy struck in Iwo, Osun State, when daredevil armed robbers stormed the ancient town and robbed four of the new generation banks in the community, using dynamite to break the bullet proof door of one of the banks.

The incident which happened close to Bowen University around 2:15 p.m., left many people injured with four people which included three police officers, a robber and a passerby reportedly killed.

However, certain eye-witness reports said that three persons were killed and many others got injured.

The report added that the incident lasted for about one hour, with the shooting sporadically into the air while the robbery lasted.

Other accounts state that daredevil armed robbers stormed one of the new generation banks in the community and used dynamite to break the bullet proof door of the bank.

Unconfirmed reports indicated that three policemen guarding the commercial bank were feared killed in the robbery incident.

Sources informed Tribune Online that a robbery gang, numbering over 10 arrived stormed the first bank around 2.15 pm and started shooting sporadically to scare away people as they headed towards the bullet proof doors leading into the banking hall.

The bank which is located directly opposite Bowen University, Iwo was said to have been riddled with bullets from the heavily armed robbery gang.

A source, who pleaded anonymity informed our correspondent that residents, shop owners and passers-by ran in different directions to escape the scene of the robbery.

According to the source, a young boy was to have been unlucky as he was hit by bullets in the leg in his bid to flee the scene of the incident.

The source stated further that “One of the robbers was killed by the policemen attached to the bank. But the robbers shot dead about three policemen during the robbery, which lasted about 50 minutes. It was like a war front as the deafening sound of gunshots rented the air. Everybody had to run for his life because of the tension created by the robbery.”

However, our correspondent authoritatively learnt that the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fimihan Adeoye had led a contingent of policemen to carry out on-the-spot assessment of the situation at the scene of the robbery in Iwo town.

Efforts to get the reaction of the CP to the incident were unsuccessful as several calls put through to his cell phone ranged out without a response. Similarly, the mobile phone of the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Osun State Police command, Mrs Folasade Odoro was switched off as of the time of filing this report.