The police in Rivers State foiled an armed robbery attempt yesterday around the Psychiatric Road area of Port Harcourt. Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmad Mohammad, in a statement issued on the incident, said the shooting took place following a tip off that a Toyota Venza snatched three days ago, was sighted within the area. “As a result of this our men quickly mobilised, trailed and engaged the vehicle’s occupants. In the interim, one of the hoodlums was fatally injured while an object suspected to be dynamite, one Toyota Venza, light green colour No. Rivers NH 262 ST and one Lexus 300 Jeep pencil colour, No. Rivers KRK 957BX, abandoned by the hoodlums, were recovered”. The PPRO was however silent on the armed robbery attack on a new generation bank on Rumuola Road beside the College of Arts and Science. Incidentally, the bank was located directly opposite the Psychiatric Road, where Police was engaged in the shootout with the hoodlums. Eyewitness account revealed that the attack lasted more than 30 minutes as many customers and the bank lost huge amount of money, this is the third time the bank would be robbed this year. In a related development, a bookshop on the ground floor of a building along Ikwerre Road, close to the popular mile 1 market and mile 1 police station was invaded by 4 armed robbers, who hit the daughter of the shop-owner with the butt of the gun as well as one of the customers, who came to buy stationeries before carting away an undisclosed amount of money.
