Molly Kilete, Abuja and Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the deployment of detectives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Federal-SARS to Kogi State to fish out the killers of eight police officers gunned down during a robbery attack in the state.
The detectives have also been directed to fish out the criminals who attacked a commercial bank in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State and the Isanlu Police station.
Adamu, who gave the order in Abuja, also directed the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police in charge of the Zone-8 Police Headquarters, Lokoja, Yunana Babas, to as a matter of urgency, assess and review the security architecture in the state to prevent a repeat of the incident.
He however sympathised with the families of the police officers and others, who lost their lives in the course of duty during the encounter even as he called on the residents of Isanlu community and the people of Kogi State to remain calm and help the police with credible information that will help in the speedy arrest of the criminal elements.
The Kogi State police command Thursday night confirmed that it lost eight of its personnel in a deadly bank robbery which took place at the Isanlu branch of a first generation bank earlier same day. The command said the robbers numbering about 25 came in two vehicles simultaneously attacked the bank and the divisional police headquarters in Isanlu. The police disclosed that the robbers used deadly weapons including dynamites and AK 47 rifles to gain access into the bank.
In the attack, eight police officers lost their lives among which were three policewomen while others sustained various degrees of injuries. The injured were later taken to the hospital for treatment while the corpses of the slain cops were deposited at the mortuary.
Meanwhile, Governor Yahaya Bello while expressing sadness over the attacks called on the police and other security agencies in the state to go all out to fish those behind the criminal acts. He commiserated with the families of those who lost their loved ones and prayed for the repose of the deceased.
