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Tag: bullion van

  • Bandits attack bullion van in Delta, carting away N60million

    Bandits attack bullion van in Delta, carting away N60million

    There was pandemonium Friday in  parts of Asaba-the Delta State Capital after armed bandits  attacked a bullion van carting away over N60 million.

    While the operation lasted many motorists abandoned their vehicles in the middle of the Benin-Asaba dual carriageway causing a traffic gridlock.

    Guns boomed during the midday raid forcing many motorists and passers-by to scamper for safety around the ever-busy Koka junction end of the Benin-Onitsha expressway.

    The Nation gathered that the bullion van belongs a to a first generation bank in Anambra State.

    An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity said siren blaring bullion van was ambushed by a gang of robbers in a convoy of three vehicles including a grey coloured Sienna van.

    It was learnt that the policemen escorting the bullion van engaged the robbers in a shootout, but were overpowered by the superior firepower of the robbers.

    The Nation gathered that the police escort numbering eight fled the scene of the incident.

    Delta Police image maker, DSP Andrew Aniamaka who confirmed the incident said “internal connivance” cannot be ruled out, lamenting that some commercial banks were still in the habit of conveying money without using bullet-proof vans despite repeated warnings by the Police Command.

    He said the van was coming from Onitsha and headed towards Agbor, adding that the bullion van had made stops at Awka, and Onitsha in Anambra State.

    His words, “I suspect internal connivance. This is in spite of the warning issued by the State Command for commercial banks to convey money following approved guidelines. The bullion van is not bullet proof; it is a configured bullion van”

    Continuing, “Who informed the hoodlums that they were carrying cash through that route? It is quite unfortunate that banks are still using configured bullion vans without bullet proof, subjecting their personnel and escort officers to unnecessary risk.

    “As we speak now, investigation is on, but I cannot tell you how much cash the bullion van was carrying before the attack. What I can assure is that the command will put necessary measures in place to bring whoever is involved directly or indirectly to justice.”

    Another eyewitness said, “It was like a scene in one of those foreign movies where the actors engage in gun battle. The hoodlums came in with about three cars and intercepted the bullion van at the junction. They started shooting and innocent people took to their heels to avoid being victims of stray bullets.

    Continuing, “Even vehicles on the expressway were making detour as a result of the attack. The officers attached to the van responded but I think the hoodlums had superior fire arms because the officers soon disappeared, giving the bandits an unfettered access to the cash stocked in the bullion van.”

    Aniamaka also confirmed that no life was lost and no injury was sustained during the shootout.

  • Bullion van rams into Amosun’s convoy

    Bullion van rams into Amosun’s convoy

    A bullion van belonging to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday rammed into the convoy of Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

    The accident occurred near Ibafo on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    Amosun was travelling to Lagos for an official assignment.

    The van damaged the escort vehicle in the governor’s convoy.

    An eyewitness alleged that the CBN convoy drove recklessly, attempting to overtake the governor’s convoy.

    He said on sensing danger, the governor’s escort commander used a public address system to warn the CBN convoy to stop reckless driving.

    “Not only was he ignored, the CBN driver hit the vehicle and went after other vehicles in the governor’s convoy, including Amosun’s official car, before he was stopped by security operatives attached to the governor.

    Amosun said: “This is lawlessness and the height of impunity.”

    He added: “If this could happen to a governor within his territory, you can imagine what they will do to our citizens who are going about their legitimate business.

    “We will not allow such senseless and reckless behaviour in Ogun State.”

  • ‘Part of Diezani’s $115m came from CBN in bullion van’

    ‘Part of Diezani’s $115m came from CBN in bullion van’

    THE Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday heard that the N450 million allegedly received by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mohammed Dele Belgore and former Minister of National Planning Prof. Abubakar Suleiman was brought to the bank from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a bullion van.
    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the sum was part of $115,010,000 (about N37 billion) allegedly shared by former Petroleum Resources Minister Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke to different individuals in 36 states.
    The first prosecution witness, Mr. Timothy Olaobaju, a banker, said among those who allegedly benefited from the money were Belgore and Suleiman, who are on trial for alleged money laundering.
    Asked under cross-examination by Belgore’s lawyer, Chief Ebun Shofunde (SAN), what the denomination of the money was, the witness said: “I can’t remember vividly but I remember there were N1,000 and N500 bills.”
    He said the money was offloaded from the bullion van into his bank’s loading bay, where it was manually counted.
    The witness said though the bank was ready to deliver the money to Belgore and Suleiman on March 26, 2015, when it arrived from the CBN, Suleiman’s failure to release his identification card delayed the process.
    He added that the transaction was captured on the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) camera mounted in the bank.
    Shofunde said: “I suggest to you that none of the defendants collected one kobo out of the N450 million.”
    The witness answered: “That is not true.”
    Olaobaju added: “The money was counted by way of bundle counting, and they were in N1,000 and N500 denominations. The money was kept overnight and in the vaults.
    “That very day, before the beneficiaries came, we had already stacked the money for them to pick. But there was a delay because the minister refused to show his identity card.
    “The beneficiaries said they could not carry the money that night because it was late. It is not true that none of the beneficiaries collected a dime,” he said.
    When Shofunde suggested to Olaobaju that it took two days to count the money, the witness disagreed. He said: “As a professional banker, I can count N1billion in 20 minutes.”
    Shofunde then put it to him that it was different individuals who came to the bank on March 27, 2015 to sign and collect portions of the N450 million, but the witness said: “That is not true.”
    The defendants objected to the tendering of a list showing they allegedly received N450 million from Mrs. Alison-Madueke.
    EFCC re-arraigned Belgore and Suleiman on an amended money laundering charge in which Mrs. Alison-Madueke was included as a defendant, though “at large”.
    Prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo sought to tender the list, but Suleiman’s lawyer, Mr. Olatunji Ayanlaja (SAN), argued that the document did not fully comply with Section 84 of the Evidence Act.
    He urged Justice Riwan Aikawa to reject it.
    Belgore’s lawyer Ebun Shofunde (SAN) said the list emanated from the maker’s mail box.
    “The document sought to be tendered has not met the conditions made out in Section 84 of the Evidence Act. It shows that the list was made from the mail box of nnamdi@yahoo.com.
    “The certificate itself was not made by the witness. That makes it more ‘yahoo, yahoo’ and I urge your lordship to rejection same,” he said.
    Oyedepo said the document substantially satisfied Section 84 of the Evidence Act, and urged the judge to admit it.
    According to him, there was a certificate attached to the document, which came from the bank where the money was lodged, signed by its Chief Compliance Officer.
    EFCC accused the defendants of conspiring to directly take possession of the N450 million, which they reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act.
    The commission said they “directly took possession of the sum” and conspired to make cash payment of N450 million, which “exceeded the amount authorised by law without going through financial institution”.
    Belgore and Suleiman pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
    Justice Aikawa adjourned till March 23 for ruling on the list’s admissibility.

  • Customs impounds bullion van loaded with rice

    Customs impounds bullion van loaded with rice

    The Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday said it impounded a bullion van belonging to a first generation bank used in concealing imported smuggled rice at Saki, Oyo State.
    It made some seizures, which included 30 fairly used vehicles within the command.
    Customs Area Controller Tolutope Ogunkua said two persons were arrested and will be charged to court.
    Ogunkua said it was worrisome that some Nigerians remained unrepentant even as they continue to lose their money to smuggling.
    He added that the command had been on the lookout for the bullion van which usually goes with police escort.
    Ogunkua said: “Our surveillance team had an exchange of gun fire with the suspects, who were later apprehended.
    “You will recall that I had reiterated our resolve to increase the revenue profile of the command and to reduce smuggling.
    “In keeping to this promise, the command initiated new anti-smuggling strategies leading to remarkable exploits today.”

  • Policemen die as robbers attack bullion van

    Policemen die as robbers attack bullion van

    Two policemen died yesterday in an attack on a bullion van belonging to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at Hawan Kibo hills in Plateau State.

    Police spokesperson Terna Tyopev told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that three officers attached to the van were injured.

    He said the van was carrying money from Jos to Lafia in Nasawara State.

    “It was a clear case of ambush; they were attacked unexpectedly. Policemen escorting the bullion van repelled the attack but unfortunately we lost two of our men on the spot. Three others were badly injured,” Tyopev told NAN.

    He, however, said the robbers could not cart away the money, “because our men responded vigorously; they reacted firmly.”

  • Police arrest 17 as bullion van crushes woman’s legs

    Police arrest 17 as bullion van crushes woman’s legs

    The Delta State Police Command has arrested 17 suspects following an attack on the driver of a tipper that caused an accident in Ovwian, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State.

    One person was critically injured in the melee.

    It was learnt that a bullion van, bearing cash to be delivered to a bank in the area, drove against the traffic.

    It forced a tipper truck on its lane to swerve and run into a female pedestrian. The tipper crushed her legs on the spot.

    The development angered the residents, who laid siege to the bank’s premises.

    The situation led to police reinforcement, which further angered the residents.

    They damaged one of the police vans.

    Police spokesman Celestina Kalu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the accident victim, as at the time a police dropped her at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, was alive.

    She said 17 suspects were arrested, following the attack on policemen by those protesting the accident.

    Kalu said: “We made some arrests. They damaged one of our vehicles. So, we managed to arrest some of those who took part in it. We went there to contain the protest and, you know the bullion van was carrying money to the bank. It had to be protected for them to discharge the money. A mob was approaching. We had to mobilise to contain them. Out of anger, they damaged one of our vehicles.

    “The woman was rushed to Oghara hospital. She was alive when she was taken there. But for now, we can’t say, if she’s still alive.”

     

  • Confusion as armed robbers snatch bullion van in P/Harcourt

    A gang of daring armed robbers yesterday robbed a bullion van in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, leading to the death of a yet-to-be-identified person, while a large cache of arms and ammunition recovered by men of the state’s police command.

    The sporadic exchange of gunshots from the fleeing armed robbers and the policemen who chased them, made residents of Diobu, Port Harcourt, to scamper to safety to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

    Most owners of shops and other business outfits in Miles 1, 2 and 3 in Diobu, Port Harcourt, hurriedly closed, while the roads suddenly became empty, as motorists and pedestrians had to run for their lives.

    The Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muhammad Kidaya Ahmad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the robbery.

    The PPRO said: “On 06/03/2015 at about 1501 hours at Mile 3, armed robbers swooped on a bullion van conveying money belonging to a bank customer and carted the money away.

    “The armed robbers were engaged by policemen on duty at the bank and gave them a hot chase. Sensing policemen were closing-in on them, they jettisoned the operation and abandoned their operational vehicle, including unspecified amount of money in locked bags. They escaped after robbing a vehicle from a motorist.

    “Items recovered from the foiled armed robbery include their operational vehicle, a golden Toyota Highlander, one Barretta pistol, one scorpion rifle, eleven AK-47 magazines, 63 assorted live ammunition, two objects suspected to be dynamite, a charm and different vehicle plate numbers.

    “Close examination at their vehicle indicated that the armed robbers sustained gunshot wounds, as it was soaked with blood. One person lost his life.”

    Ahmad also pleaded with the members of the public to report anybody seen with wounds suspected to be gun shot to the nearest police station or call 08032003514, 08028915460, 08028915462 and 08160723892.

  • Robbers attack bullion van

    Robbers attack bullion van

    Armed bandits reportedly attacked yesterday a bullion van loaded with cash at Elemoso village on the Ondo – Akure Road in Ondo East Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    Eyewitnesses said the hoodlums looted the van and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

    The bullion van and the escort vehicle were said to have been riddled with bullets in the incident which was said to have occurred at 4:50pm.

    A source said the policemen escourting the vans were caught unawares after the robbers shot sporadically at the vehicles simultaneously.

    The policemen and the driver, it was learnt, escaped from the scene immediately the bandits opened fire on them.

    It was learnt that a middle aged man, who was coming from Ondo town, was hit by bullets.

    A school proprietor, who was said to be coming from a mechanic workshop, ran into the hoodlums.

    He is receiving treatment at the General Hospital.

    Police Commissioner Isaac Eke described the attack as shocking. He said his men had launched a manhunt for the robbers.