Residents of Owo and Ikare, two major towns in Ondo State are groaning over the continued closure of commercial banks in the area. The closure of the banks resulted from frequent bank robbery incidents in the areas recently.
The situation has brought indescribable hardship on the residents, especially business men and students who rely on the banks for their day-to-day activities and upkeep respectively.
For almost two months, all the banks in Ikare and Owo have not opened for business transaction since some banks were robbed in the two towns, a situation which also led to loss of lives.
The robbery operations in the towns, led to the untimely death of many residents of the communities and the incident has affected economic and commercial activities.
Although the police in the state have arrested some suspects who carried out the act, the residents still live in fear.
Many residents of Owo, especially students of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, travel to neighbouring towns such as Akure, the state capital, to carry out their banking
transactions.
Residents of Ikare-Akoko, especially business persons also experience the same situation.
They have therefore called on the government to provide security for them in order to restore banking activities in the communities for the economic and commercial benefits of inhabitants of the two communities.
It would be recalled that dare devil robbers had stormed two banks in Ikare-Akoko on January 14 this year, killing several innocent people and security officuials.
The bank has remained desolate since then and the managements of the banks
are not doing anything to improve the situation.
Similarly, the ancient town of Owo had witnessed serious robbery incident two days to the Presidential elections when heavily armed robbers attacked four out of the five banks in the town, killing several people including bank officials.
The two robbery operations on the banks also sent many security operatives to their early graves.
It was not certain whether the state police command took responsibility for the burial of the affected police officers, as the relatives of one of the victims had
earlier petitioned the Inspector-General of Police on the matter.
It was learnt that the affected banks have refused for commercial operations since the ugly incidents as managements of the banks have not renovated the damaged structures of the banks.
The aged people in the two towns are not left out in the hardship as they also pass through rigorous process of traveling to Akure which is about 45 minutes from Owo and almost two hours from Ikare-Akoko before making their banking transactions.
Even the elite, who rely on Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card for their banking transactions also have to travel to the state capital to make any withdrawal or perform any form of banking transaction.
Some of the residents of Owo who spoke with our correspondent expressed worry on the current situation in terms of banking transactions.
One Dele Oni, who said he has been living in the town for over two decades said the people have never had it so bad as it is now, saying that the development was already affecting commercial activities in the town.
Also a resident of Ikare-Akoko, Mrs. Aina Oyeleye complained of the agony her people pass through while making any transactions, stressing that “even for those who need to withdraw N2, 000 from the ATM, they would still have to go to Akure to carry out the transaction.”
Also, Madam Kikelomo Bobola, who is a trader in Owo said non-functioning of banks in the town is seriously affecting her business.
She said she could not stay in the shop beyond 2:00 p.m., especially when a huge amount of money was paid to her, saying she would have to abandon the shop and travel all the way to Akure to make the deposit.
The trader said the stress has become too burdensome so much so that most market women have become sick and closed shop recently.
However, while reacting to the development, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the state Police Command, Mr. Wole Ogodo said robbery threat was not responsible for the continuous closure of the banks in the two towns, saying the command was committed to ensuring safety of lives and property of the people.
ýHe said the banks recently attacked at Ikare and Owo towns had not been able to open to customers because of the inability of their managements to renovate them.
The PPRO said the State Police Command under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Isaac Eke, had since made all necessary security arrangements to ensure that residents and banks across the state go about their lawful businesses without fear or threat from any quarters.
He noted that the Ikare and Owo robberies were unfortunate, saying the police should be commended for their gallant approach towards fighting robbers.
“The security operatives rose immediately to challenge the scores of robbers that came to rob in Owo and succeeded in killing some of the robbers and arrested a few of them. Cache of weapons and cash carted away from various banks by the robbers were recovered. The tight security in the state has not suffered lapses since the assumption of office of the present Commissioner of Police.
“The successes recorded so far as regards the security of the state can be traceable to the synergy between the Commissioner of Police and sister security agencies. The symbiotic relationship with members of the public, robust relationship and
constant interaction between the state government and security chiefs assisted us in fighting crime in the stateý.
“These assertions could be attested to in the just-concluded general elections as there was no major violence in Ondo State compared to other states where elections were characterised by killing of people, burning of houses and kidnapping.
