A bullion van robber was shot dead by men of the Abia State Police Command on Tuesday along the Port Harcourt-Enugu Expressway, in the Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna, made this known in a statement, adding that the incident happened around 1.13 pm.
He said, “Six mobile policemen attached to the 28 PMF Umuahia and Counter Terrorist Unit, Base 4, Aba, while escorting a bullion van conveying cash from one new generation commercial bank in Aba to Umuahia, suddenly ran into a blockade/ambush mounted by armed robbers.
“The armed robbers opened fire on the bullion van, which forced its driver to swerve into the bush where the bank cash officer was shot dead by the hoodlums, while the driver escaped.
“During the gun duel that ensued between the police escorts and the hoodlums, one of the hoodlums was neutralised and his AK-47 rifle, with ammunition-laden three magazines strapped together, was recovered.”
The police spokesman disclosed that three of the escorts sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to a hospital.
The corpses of the slain bank worker and hoodlum were reportedly deposited in a morgue.