At least five persons were killed when a group of heavily armed bandits stormed banks in Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State.
The robbers reportedly arrived the community in two Sienna buses around 6pm on Tuesday, November 3, 2015.
It was gathered that the police officers in the area fled to a nearby bush when the robbers started a deadly shoot out killing two officers, two civilians and a private security guard during the process.
Some members of the gang took over a police station while others simultaneously attacked two banks, where they reportedly blew the gates with explosives.
An unspecified number of persons sustained varying degrees of injuries as the armed robbers engaged the police and vigilante in a hoot out.
An eyewitness told The Nation that the robbers killed a guard and shot at civilians after ransacking the banks and attacking policemen at the nearby police station.
They were said to have returned when an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was brought to the scene.
Vigilantes subsequently barricaded the entry points into and out of the community which made the robbers abandon their vehicles.
One of the robbers was said to have been arrested; another was shot dead.
Among the items recovered from the hoodlums were: N4.4 million cash, 11 AK-47 rifles, 41 AK-47 magazines, three T06 rifles, two vehicles, 21 unexploded bombs, 46 T06 live ammunition, seven mobile phones and seven exploded cases of bombs.
Police Commissioner Chris Ezike,who visited the community on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 commended his men and disclosed that some officers are still searching the bush for injured suspects, who might not have fled the community.
