The attackers reportedly ambushed the officials who were returning from a bank at Government Secretariat Road, Ado-Ekiti, where they withdrew the money.
Six gunmen on Wednesday attacked some accountants attached to the Cabinet Department of the Ekiti State Governor’s Office, snatching N20m from them, the Nation reports.
The attackers reportedly ambushed the officials who were returning from a bank at Government Secretariat Road, Ado-Ekiti, where they withdrew the money.
An eyewitness alleged that the gunmen shot into the air before robbing the officials.
He said, “The officials were paymasters and accountants attached to the Cabinet Department of the Governor’s Office. They went to make withdrawal at the behest of their superiors and while returning, the robbers waylaid them at a place between the Chicken Republic and Fajuyi Park and dispossessed them of the huge cash.”
The incident crippled economic activities in the state capital as financial institutions, petrol stations, supermarkets, eateries hurriedly shut down while commuters took to their heels.
Rumours spread rapidly that a bank robbery was ongoing but such fears were allayed as police commissioner, Babatunde Mobayo, told members of the public to disregard them.
Mobayo, in a statement signed by the Command spokesman, Sunday Abutu, said, “For clarity, the incident that occurred today (Wednesday) in Ado-Ekiti was about a driver of a Toyota Corolla car with about three other occupants who were accosted by a group of yet-to-be-identified hoodlums and dispossessed them of some amount of money.
“Upon the receipt of the information, the Commander of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) led his operatives to the scene but by then, the hoodlums had fled the scene already.
“However, some persons have been invited by the police for interrogation and further investigation while serious effort is ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects.”