By Suzan Edeh

BAUCHI- FOUR bank officials have been arrested by the Bauchi State Police Command over robbery incidents in two new generation banks in Azare area of the state last weekend.

Police sources alleged that some of the arrested bank officials colluded with the robbers to plant bombs in the banking hall which were programmed to detonate at a particular time before the robbery.

The robbers reportedly used explosives to destroy the banks and three other police stations in the area before carting away about N32,436,750.

The state’s Police Commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, confirmed the arrests while briefing newsmen, yesterday, at the police headquarters.

Aduba said investigations conducted by police detectives revealed that ‘’clearly the crime was perpetrated based on an organised conspiracy masterminded by the bank officials.”

According to him, in one of the banks where about N7.3 million was purportedly looted during the invasion, the bank vault was quite intact and undamaged by explosives and the keys were on the vaults’ locks when detectives arrived. He said it was a clear pointer to a case of constructive breaking.

On the robbery at the second bank, the Police Commissioner said that N25,136,750 million was looted during the invasion, adding that investigations conducted by the experts on explosives revealed that the damage and after effect of the explosion was a clear manifestation of interconnectivity of planted bombs within the banking hall.

Aduba said the experts discovered that the bombs were planted in advance and programmed to detonate between 11.30pm to 12 midnight of last Saturday when the bank was supposedly looted.

He stressed that the four bank officials would be made to face the full weight of the law.