On Friday suspected militants in a speedboat invaded the United Bank Africa located in the university town of Ammassoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The militants carted away an Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
The gunmen, numbering twelve and armed with sophisticated weapons and dynamite, invaded the Ammassoma community at about 11:03pm through the waterways, according to sources speaking to SaharaReporters.
Though the police officers attached to the Ammassoma Division of the State Police Command engaged the armed men in a shootout, the police became overwhelmed by the militants’ firepower.
It was learnt that the armed men shot their way to the Ammassoma branch of the bank with security guards and local residents scampering away for safety.
An eyewitness and indigenes of the community said "the armed men threw bombs and dynamite at the walls of the bank, bringing down its fences. They gained access to the bank premises but were unable to get in after many attempts."
"They therefore blew up the walls holding the ATM machine and carted it away with them," the added.
The Ammassoma community, like other suburbs in Bayelsa State, in recent times have come under armed robbery attacks. An indigene the area, Tunde Juluis said "we are now under threat from thieves, rapists, and robbers. Painfully, this is the town where the Niger Delta university is situated, thereby exposing students to more danger."
"Overtime, students have constantly faced attacks from robbers and restive youths, the university campus has been one area where robbers have targeted. Many students have fallen prey and lost their belongings. Even those off campus has not been spared as their doors have been consistently forced down by robbers, which has led to the hospitalization of many students."
Contacted on the development, the spokesman of the Bayelsa Police Command, Asimin Butwat, who confirmed the development, said though the armed bandits attacked the bank with dynamites, "they did not cart away the ATM machines."