Katsina: Cashier robbed of N61m at gunpoint, police suspect foul play

Katsina: Cashier robbed of N61m at gunpoint, police suspect foul play

A cashier in the office of the Secretary to the Government of Katsina State, on Thursday, was allegedly robbed of N61 million he withdrew from one of the banks in the state capital.

According to reports, the cashier, identified as Mr Aminu Darma, had the N61 million packed in three bags when the gunmen attacked him around Steel Rolling Round About and forcefully took the bags of money from him.

An eyewitness, identified as Aliyu Shehu, said, “I saw a Toyota Corolla, ram into a Hilux van and veered off the road while being chased by another car. Three armed men came out after the car stopped and started shooting into the air. They headed for the crashed car, opened its booth and took three loaded sacks into their car before they drove off.”

Reacting to the development, the spokesperson of Katsina Police Command, SP Gambo Isahm, said the command suspected foul play in the attack.

“We are investigating the surrounding circumstances of the alleged attack. It baffled the command for a state government staff to carry such a huge amount of money without police escort,” Gambo said.

He lamented that the command is tired of receiving such stories from financial officers from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the State, explaining that a colleague of Mr Darma was also involved in a similar case where he withdrew money and left it in the trunk of his vehicle only to report that the money was stolen.

Gambo further disclosed that Mr Darma only sustained minor bruises in the attack, contrary to the story that the robbers shot him on his arm.

“The modus operandi was very suspicious. An attack with AK 47 by real armed robbers may lead to fatal injury and not mere bruises. We are also investigating why the personnel went alone to pick up the money without any supporting staff and only to be robbed by two gunmen in an ash-coloured Camry.

“He was alleged to have single-handedly withdrawn the sum of sixty-one million naira from the bank. There is a conspiracy theory we are investigating here,” Gambo said.