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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
A young man, whose identity has not been disclosed, sneaked into a branch of a bank in Dadinkowa, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, with Improvised Explosive Device (IED), and demanded N100 million to prevent detonating it.
An official of the bank, who spoke with Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said the incident happened when staff of the bank were attending to customers, on Monday.
According to the official, the suspect approached a frontline teller, pretending to withdraw money, but instead dropped a note to the attendant.
He reportedly told the teller officer that an IED was strapped to his body and he would detonate if his demand was not met.
“Understanding the demand of the suspect, the teller officer quickly communicated the situation to their supervisor who promptly alerted bank security to open the emergency exit for people to run. Thereafter, customers were alerted to leave the banking hall for their safety.
“Realising that customers had started running out of the bank, he also joined them but was arrested by the bank’s security guards who later called in anti-bomb squad. On their arrival, they took him to Rantya police station for further investigation, ” the official narrated.
The official said the suspect was able to enter the bank because the IED attached to his body was a fake one, adding that the Mantrap door would have detected it if it were original.
There are reports that an angry mob wanted to lynch him, but security operatives came to his rescue.
The Plateau State Police Command, DSP Alabo Alfred, is yet to speak on the incident.
