The Ogun State Police Command, on Sunday, declared that it will hold responsible, branch officials of any financial institution that experience any form of armed robbery attack across the state henceforth.
Njenje Media News reports that the command specifically warned bank officials whose branches are doing businesses in the Ijebu-Ode axis of the state against unguarded utterances, as well as other mischievous allegations regarding security architecture around their business environments as such amount to aiding and abetting criminal elements.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abeokuta, the state capital, by the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, the command expressed dissatisfaction over allegations of an impending armed robbery attack leveled by workers at the banks and other financial institutions, which they said forced them to close shops in the past week.
LEADERSHIP gathered that workers of the banks and other financial institutions had claimed to have received a letter from a faceless armed robbery gang, notifying them of their intention to “visit” at an unspecified time, hence, the need to close down pending when their security could be guaranteed.
Apparently miffed by the unsubstantiated claim, the Ogun State Police Command described the bankers’ action as “treacherous and mischievous”, stressing that they are the real suspects intending to organise or carryout such robbery since they have refused to make such letter of robbery intention available for investigations.
“They claimed armed robbers wrote to inform them that they are coming to attack them, but they will not make the purported letter available to the police for investigation and possible apprehension of those behind it”.
“It is bad that from time to time they cry wolves, carelessly and recklessly and in none of these numerous occasions has any robbery taken place.
“The command is appalled at this unprofessional behavior of bankers in that axis despite the continuous assurance of their safety by the police and other security agencies.
Their recent action can only be described as treacherous and mischievous, because they are not the only bankers we have in the state and the country in general, yet they are the ones complaining of robbery threat every now and then.
“The command wants to believe that some of them actually want their banks to be robbed, hence these strange set of bankers expose the banks in the area to security threats by making public, real and imaginary security lapses to the general public including armed robbers rather than quietly discussing them with security agencies and government.
“The command has noticed that once they are bent on this mischief, they closed their minds and eyes to other security arrangements the police, in conjunction with other security agencies have on ground to protect them.
“The command therefore, warn that the bankers will surely be the first set of suspects if anything unusual in the form of bank robbery (God forbid) happens in the area, at least for them to disclose their ceaseless sources of information,” he said.
Oyeyemi, however, disclosed that the state Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the bankers’ claim of receiving a letter from armed robbers on the matter, stressing that police on its part “is doing everything within the ambit of the law to guarantee the safety of life and property of good people of Ogun state; the banks and other financial institutions inclusive.”
