Date: 2012-05-28

A middle-aged man was shot dead by armed robbers in Ilorin at the weekend moments after he had withdrawn a sizeable amount of money from a first generation bank in the metropolis. 

The incident threw traders at the popular Midland/Post-Office area into panic as they witnessed how the robbers, said to have operated in a taxi cab shot sporadically into the air to scare away possible help for their victim. 

According to eyewitness, the man had gone to withdraw money from the bank, located on the popular Unity Road but decided to take the Obbo Road back on a commercial motorcycle unknown to him that his attackers were already waiting in a taxi outside the bank.  

It was the first shot from the robbers that indicated to him there was danger, which made him to ask the motorcyclist to increase his speed. The robbers were said to have however pursued him to the junction of Obbo Road/Midland area where they fired another shot at him and shot into the air. 

The man, according to eyewitness, jumped down from the motorcycle and started running towards the Post Office area but fell down in front of a popular filling station near the railway intersection where people immediately came to his aid and rushed him to the hospital. 

According to a source, the robbers went to another bank not far from the first one where they also attempted to attack another victim but luck ran out on them as security operatives still on alert as a result of the first incident swooped on them and nabbed the three of them. 

Spokesman for the state’s police command, Mr. Dabo Ezekiel confirmed the incident and said a pistol was recovered from the robbers.  He however noted that the identity of the deceased was yet to be ascertained while his corpse had been deposited in the mortuary.