Armed men susupected to be militant youths yestarday stormed the Choba branch of the united Bank for Africa and made away with undisclosed sums of money.
The armed youths who were according to eyewitness accounts, very violent, did not aim their guns on people but only wounded those who were close during the operation that lasted several hours.
However, inspite of the sporadic shootings, no life was lost but by the time they left with their loots, no fewer than nine persons were lefts sprawling on the ground having been wounded.They were rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching hospital.
Sources told THISDAY that the youths who had apparently stormed the bank to cart away salaries of workers scheduloed to be paid yesterdsay were disappointed as unknown to them, the payment had been rescheduled to a later date.
They said the boys who arrived the bank through the creeks immediately fanned out and covered the entrance of the Choba campus of the University of Port Harcourt before entering the bank with the hope of carting away the salaries.
“The robbers got information that loans, salaries and allowances were to be paid to the workers today being friday (yesterday) at the bank and they prepared to storm the bank and cart away ther money. God however intervened as the payment was rescheduled and the boys came”, the source said.
When it became apparent to them that they had missed their target, the robbers then shot more sporadically into the air before escaping through the Choba river where they burnt the Volkswagen bus they came with for the operations to leave no clues.
Students on the campus said nothing like that had taken place at the school before and asked that there should be increased joint patrol by the police and the army to avoid a repeat of the ugly incident.
All attempts to get police confirmation failed as calls to the cell phone of the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Ireju Barasua�constantly entered into voice mail.
Dec162006