The police on Friday says there might be a foul play on the part of the staff members of the new generation bank which was robbed on Thursday evening in Oye-Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area of the state.
This was just as the sum of N25 million and some huge sum in foreign currency, were discovered to have been stolen by the robbers during the robbery incident.
Two persons, a police sergeant and a seven-year-old girl were killed in the gun battle that ensued between security men and the armed robbers.
The robbers also attacked the Police Divisional Police station in Oye Ekiti and burnt a police van used to block the Ilupeju-Oye highway after they had robbed for over 30 minutes.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Asuquo Amba, who visited the bank on an assessment tour on Friday, alleged that there was an internal connivance between the bank officials and the robbers going by the startling revelations of the Close Circuit Television (CCTV).
He alleged that it was baffling that the bank officials could opened the strong room seven minutes before the robbery.
Amba further alleged that the CCTV also revealed how the bankers and a customer, who ran inside upon hearing the gunshots, had used the robbery opportunity to stuff money into their pockets as they moved frequently into the vault before the bandits struck the security door with over seven Improvised Explosive Devices.
The commissioner said between the time the bandits attacked the Police Divisional office, which was about the 300 metres away from the bank and the said time they struck, was enough for the bankers to have escaped after closing the vault, but they refused to do so for the sinister intention they allegedly harboured.
“The summary of it is that, there was internal connivance and it is unfortunate. There was a similarity between this robbery and the one we had at Ise Ekiti recently.
“It baffles me that there was suspected insiders’ connivance in the whole issue. Plus, or minus, there was a missing link and it is that link that we are working upon and trying to investigate.
“The banking policy does not allow us to post mobile policemen to the bank for reasons known to them and this started in 2016 based on the letter written by the bank requesting for only plain-clothed policemen.
“Between the time the robbers attacked our men and the time the robbery took place, the staff had enough time to escape through the exit door. They were captured by the CCTV moving in and out of the vault. The vault was even opened before the robbers came.
“Despite the opportunity, none of them made efforts to escape; they were stuffing money into their pockets and there was evidence to prove this.
“The staff opened the vault at 3.05 pm while the robbers blew up the security door at 3.12 pm; this gave a strong suspicion that there was internal collaboration in the matter; it showed complicity.
“All these are the dynamics we are studying and that will form the basis for our thorough investigation,” he said.
Amba added that the police recovered a carton inside the bank containing over N2 million that was hidden by one of the bankers before the operation.
“The carton was hidden under the table within the banking hall. This should be part of the loot from the strong room,” Amba added.
He said two top managerial staff already being detained by the police were helping the course of the investigation.
It was also gathered that the woman whose child was killed by robbers during the operation, had been taken out of Oye Ekiti to her country home.
It was also gathered that the deceased was the only child of the bereaved woman.