It was like an epic Hollywood scene. Five young men, dressed in military fatigue uniforms and wielding AK47 automatic rifles, just emerged from the nearby waterway bordering the lagoon along Ikoyi/Lekki bridge.
Their mission was obvious because they started firing from all fronts. It was the peak hour when workers were on their way home.
Pandemonium ensued as people ran helter-skelter. Some motorists on top of the bridge nearly plunged into the river safe for the rails that barricaded them. There was mass race towards the Ikoyi
end of the bridge. The race transcended age limit as both the young and old took to their heels.
ATTACK ON TARGET
According to Vanguard, while this lasted, the gun totting hoodlums proceeded towards their target. There was no doubt that their fire power was to clear way for the accomplishment of their mission. They entered by the lagoon into an empty but fenced land beside a shopping complex which borders FCMB and Stanbic Bank, IBTC, by the roundabout of the Lekki end of the bridge.
They forced the miscreants in the empty plot of land to open the makeshift black gate entrance of the plot and burst out into Admiralty road and started shooting indiscriminately. That was how they succeeded in forcing their way into the banks.
POLICE VICTIMS
Unfortunately, as soon as the hoodlums outside the banks sited some policemen in a white coaster bus, they released volleys of bullets towards their direction. The policemen were on escort duty with expatriates in the bus when they ran into the scene. Three of the policemen were felled while the expatriates were seated unruffled in the white coaster bus as the operation lasted.
Not even their brief cases (quite a number of them) were touched by the hoodlums. This triggered off another round of commotion as both passers-by including other pedestrians and hawkers, took to their heels. A little girl who sells fish in the area was also felled by hot leads of bullets from the bandits’ weapons.