Police Engage In Gun Duel With Robbers Trailing Bank Customers In Abia, Fruit Seller Hit By Stray Bullet

Officers of the Abia State Police Command have nabbed some robbery suspects.

The officers intercepted an armed robbery gang that specialized in robbing bank customers after they have made withdrawals in Umuahia, the state capital.

The state police public relations officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna confirmed the incident.

The incident happened on Thursday and a fruit seller was shot by the hoodlums during an exchange of gunfire with police operatives on Bank Road.

It was gathered that the hoodlums had trailed a bank customer who had made a withdrawal at the branch of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) on Bank Road, Umuahia in Abia State.

Subsequently, the robbers were intercepted by a police patrol team, leading to a gun duel between the robbers and the police. Unfortunately, a fruit seller was hit by a stray bullet.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim was a fruit seller and was immediately taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia.

It was unclear if there were other casualties at the time of filing this report.

The attack forced many shops around Bank Road to close abruptly, a resident of the area who simply identified himself as Kingsley Oka, said.

Oka told SaharaReporters that the roads adjoining Bank Road were flooded with security agents.

Confirming the incident to SaharaReporters, the state police public relations officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna, said it was not a case of bank robbery.

Ogbonna said, "It wasn't a case of a bank robbery attack. What happened is that some of these armed robbers who trail people coming from the banks - people who go to banks to make withdrawals. They will trail them because it happened recently. They will trail their target to where it will be conducive for them to strike and they will strike.

"So that was what happened today. Our people who were on patrol in that area were able to intercept the gang and on sighting the police, they engaged them in a shootout and they were able to escape, abandoning their operational vehicle. The police recovered one AK-47 rifle from them as well as a vehicle and one machete."

He also confirmed that one person was shot but said the identity of the victim wasn't known yet.

"A stray bullet hit somebody who sells something nearby and even one of our colleagues (police) had a slight touch of their bullet," he added.