Armed Robbers raid ATM in Abakaliki

Six robbery suspects on Friday raided an Automated Teller machine (ATM) installed at a popular eatery along Afikpo Road in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, eastern Nigeria.

The suspects were said to have arrived on two motorbikes at about 3p.m, shot sporadically into the air to scare away people before dismantling the machine and carting away an undisclosed sum of money.

The robbery was carried out just as bank officials had stocked the machine with money.
Mr Sylvester Igbo, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, confirmed the incident but said that the command had not received full details of the robbery.
An eye witness, Mr Uchenna Agwu, said the robbers escaped unchallenged after the operation.
“All members of the gang were armed with AK 47 automatic rifles as they terrified residents during the operation including staff of banks along the road, who rushed out of their offices and ran for dear lives.
“Motorists rammed into one another in utter fear in a bid to escape from the robbers and this caused serious traffic congestion along the popular Ogoja and Afikpo roads, in the town,” he said.
Agwu said that the robbers used sophisticated instruments to dismantle the ATM facility, as the bank officials at the scene fled in fear.
“They didn’t shoot anybody in the incident, as they also did not face resistance from anyone including the mobile policemen attached to a nearby bank,” he said.