By Ola Ajayi

IBADAN— EXCHANGE of gunshots between dare-devil armed robbers who laid siege on Ibadan metropolis and policemen yesterday led to the death of four persons.

15 robbers broke into the peaceful city firing gun shots at the Apata area of the city. The melee left a mobile policeman, and three others dead with one person injured.

Quick response by the State Police Command prevented the gun-totting robbers from robbing banks and other places they had earlier mapped out for attacks.

The news of the armed robbers’ onslaught led to early termination of a political stakeholders’ meeting presided over by the Commissioner of Police who had announced to the  politicians that heeded the invitation that he should have put off the meeting because of a more urgent assignment he had at hand.

Areas where the daylight robbers caused stampede included Apata, New Garage, Challenge, Iwo road.

Vanguard gathered that one of the victims who was reported to be a plank seller was shot dead by the robbers while trying to make some calls. The robbers were said to have thought he was alerting the police. He was shot at Iwo road end of the city.

An eyewitness, Mr. Adeniran Adesoji whose car was snatched by the robbers, said the robbers were about 15 in number.

“I was going to my office at about 9.11am when they snatched my Toyota Sienna car and forced me to drive on. As I was about raising objection thinking they were policemen, one of them hit my foot with the gun and said, ‘do you want us to waste your life.  We have just killed a policeman.”  So, co-operate with us. My vehicle was going ahead while other cars filled with the robbers were coming behind us,’ Adeniran said.