Armed men on Monday carried out a daylight robbery in Minna, the Niger State capital, making away with about ₦8 million belonging to a petrol dealer. The incident occurred near the Minna City Gate, a short distance from the dealer’s filling station, while he was on his way to deposit weekend sales at the bank.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the dealer had packed the money in a sack and was driving a Mercedes-Benz car when four gunmen in a Toyota Corolla double-crossed him. “The dealer had loaded the money in a sack, we learnt it was about ₦8 million, and was on his way to the bank. The men forced him to stop at gunpoint, opened the boot of his car and carted away the sack containing the money,” one eyewitness said.
The witness added that panic broke out when the robbers fired gunshots into the air before escaping. “People started shouting, ‘Thief, thief, Barawo!’ as they sped away. It was like a movie scene. Passers-by ran for safety when they heard the gunshots,” he recalled.
Niger State Commissioner of Police, Adam Elleman, confirmed the robbery and directed area commanders in Minna and the Divisional Police Officer of Tudun-Wada Division to launch a manhunt for the suspects. In a statement, the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, said: “Today (Monday) about 8.45 a.m., report received indicated that there was a robbery around Tunga Market, Minna, where a Toyota Camry vehicle, ash in colour with four men, crossed and blocked a Mercedes vehicle. The occupant of the car was allegedly robbed of a yet-to-be-ascertained sum of money when coming from the old city gate area.”
Abiodun added that the Commissioner of Police had ordered a forensic investigation into the case while advising the victim to lodge a formal complaint at the nearest police station. Sources disclosed that the stolen money represented sales proceeds from Friday to Monday morning at the petrol dealer’s filling station.
As of the time of reporting, no arrests had been made, but police confirmed that efforts were ongoing to track down the suspects.
