By Dayo Johnson
Last week bank robberies in Ondo State in which five persons were killed has claimed its first casualty as the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Mr. John Mark has been redeployed out of the state by the Police authorities.

It was gathered that the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, was disappointed by the development following preliminary reports he received on the two bank robberies in the state and how policemen took to their heels leaving the robbers to have a field day.

This was coming as banks in Akure, the Ondo State capital hurriedly closed shops as early as noon yesterday following reports that robbers were operating in neighbouring Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.

It was learnt from reliable source that two of the eight robbers that raided the two banks last week only disguised as ladies but were actually men.

One of the drivers whose vehicle was hijacked in Akure and who took them to Ilawe said two of the robbers that dressed like ladies with braids and fake breast threw off the materials they disguised with and they all changed into native attires after having their bath in a stream.

To escape police check points, they reportedly pasted obituary posters all over the body of the 18-seater bus to deceive security men on the highway which made them escape to neighbouring state.

Policeman supplies weapon to robbers

Also fresh fact revealed that the weapon used by the hoodlums may have been supplied by a Policeman in the Ondo State Police Command.

The suspected policeman according to sources in the Police has been arrested and may be paraded alongside the five suspects already in police net in connection with the robberies

State Police PRO, Adeniran Aremu denied that there was another robbery in the state but that news filtered to the state that “something is happening in neighbouring state that was why the banks locked the gates.”

Aremu said the security operatives are up to the task just as fully armed policemen were deployed to almost all the banks in the state capital yesterday.

Meanwhile, following the security lapses that resulted into the killing of five persons, including a nursing mother, the Police authorities redeployed Mark to Oyo State.

He was accused of not been able to curtail the nefarious activities of the eight-men gang  that operated for over one hour unhindered in Akure last week Thursday.

But Mark it was gathered was out of the state capital when the robbers struck and trailed them when news got to him in Ore where he went to arrest suspects engaging in oil bunkering.

Vanguard gathered that the policeman that allegedly supplied the robbers’ weapon is attached to the A Division police state which is less than 300 meters away from the two banks that were raided by the hoodlums.

Following further investigations, the policeman is being detained at the Headquarters of the police Command in Akure.

It was learnt that the suspects reportedly gave out the guns 24-hours before the robberies last Thursday in the Akure metropolis.