Banker, 31 others feared killed by Boko Haram in Adamawa

Robbers attack Kwara bank, kill student Banker, 31 others feared killed by Boko Haram in Adamawa advertisement BARELY two months after suspected members of Boko Haram sect threatened to attack Adamawa State, the group yesterday carried out the threat as its members attacked Gombi Local Council headquarters, allegedly killing 32 people, including a bank manager and several police officers. The incident occurred as more than15 suspected armed robbers allegedly swooped on two second generation banks in Offa, Kwara State, killing a student customer who had gone to the bank to withdraw N1, 000 with an ATM card. The sect members carried out the attack at the same hour. Governor Murtala Nyako was donating relief materials to Boko Haram victims in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. An eyewitness told The Guardian that the suspected Boko Haram members invaded the Gombi Council headquarters in four buses and launched their first attack on the police station, where several police officers and personnel were killed. The eyewitness maintained that the group seized arms at the Gombi police headquarters. The Guardian further gathered that the group moved to the bank in Gombi and killed the manager and others for notreciting a portion of the holy quoran. Sources at the bank told The Guardian that when the suspected Boko Haram invaded the bank, they killed those that failed to recite a particular portion in the holy quoran as they directed their victims. It was learnt that the hoodlums, after their bloody operation at the bank, moved to another bank, but they could not gain access into premises as a result of the security doors installed by the bank. Adamawa State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Daniel Altine, confirmed the incident, but said that the command was yet to receive the details of the attack in Gombi. The PPRO promised to call back for more details, but did not call at the time this report was filed. The robbers in Kwara said to be in their 30s, shot sporadically into the air with sophisticated guns to scare customers by the gate of the banks along Ibrahim Taiwo Road and passers by, moving into the banking halls in a commando-like manner. More than seven customers of the banks were seriously injured in the operation that lasted for over 50 minutes, according to an eyewitness accounts. The security operatives stationed at the banks, afraid of the superior firepower of the robbers, were said to have taken "cover" throughout the duration of the operation. The incident said to have occurred between 11:30 am and 12:20 noon, allegedly turned the scene a hitherto beehive of activities into a deserted area.