Strong indications Friday evening emerged on Thursday simultaneous robbery attacks on four commercial banks at Uromi, Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.

It was learnt that the armed robbers took advantage of the absence chain commanders of the Edo Police in the axis to strike.

A security source, who pleaded anonymity told newsmen that the armed robbers decided to strike on Thursday, having studied that the police commanders in the Uromi axis had joined their counterparts across the state in a critical weekly briefing with the state Commissioner of Police.

The source disclosed that as it had been the practice in the past, the Thursday Commanders parley with the CP required the physical presence of all the police Area Commanders and the Divisional Police Officers in the state.

The armed robbers numbering about 30, who came in a convoy of vehicles, carried out the well coordinated heist simultaneously at the four banks in the town at the Uromi city Centre.

The source added that the robbers decision to carry out the commando-like attacks when the crucial security meeting was ongoing in Benin had thrown up serious questions among the top echelon of the Edo Police Command, with posers being raised as to the proprietary or otherwise of the physical meeting in the age of technology, where virtual communication strategy could have been employed.

The vehicle abandoned by the robbers

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The absence of the Divisional Police Officers and the Area Commanders, who are the operational commanders, the source posited, must have affected what could have been an immediate coordinated police response against the criminals.

He argued that the armed robbers, who carried out the attacks, during which seven persons (two police and five civilians) were killed, as confirmed by Bello Kontongs, Edo Police Public Relations Officer, must have monitored the area and the possible security reaction to the threat before embarking on the action.

Besides the human casualties, the armed robbers were seeing in the viral video of the attacks loading unspecified huge sums of money in sacks into their getaway vehicles.

The affected banks are Zenith Bank, First Bank, Unity Bank and the United Bank for Africa, UBA.

Meanwhile, a late evening feelers from the neighbouring Ubiaja town in Esan South-East LGA, indicated that the youths of the community, on hearing about the robbery incidents, mobilised and blocked the road to prevent the fleeing robbers from using the town as their thoroughfare.

The unconfirmed feeler stated that the armed robbers abandoned one of the cars carrying the cash stolen from the banks and one of them arrested.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Armed Robbers Lay Coordinated, Simultaneous Attacks On Uromi Banks

The “breaking news”, as posted on the Edo Police Command Press Interactive WhatsApp platform reads:

“Thankfully our ubiaja youths were able to block Ubiaja Road by the rail line, which forced the robbers to abandon their cash ladden vehicles off the rail line and flee in motorcycles. The vehicles and cash have been recovered and counting still ongoing at the Ubiaja police station. An arrest has also been made. God will reveal all the perpetrators. The blood of the innocent Will hunt them down”.

One of the vehicles, shown in the viral video of the robbery, being loaded with the sacks of cash from the affected bank, a red Toyota Camry car with registration number, MK 23 KJA, was posted along the “Breaking News” on the platform.

Though the PPRO, Kontongs, is listed as a member on the journalists interactive platform, he was yet to confirm or deny the information as at the time of filing this report