…the bank customer said he managed to wrestle the rifle from the suspect.
Minna, Nigeria — The iNews Times reports that a bank customer narrowly escaped death on Friday after suspected armed robbers trailed him from a bank and launched a Minna bank robbery attack along Shiroro Road in Niger State, making away with millions of naira and his vehicle.
The incident occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on March 6, 2026, when the victim, David Adebayo Emmanuel, was ambushed shortly after leaving the bank.
The bank customer told journalists that he had earlier withdrawn N5 million from one bank shortly before 2:00 p.m. and later visited another bank where he withdrew an additional N3 million. He added that he already had N1 million in his possession before the withdrawals.
According to him, the attack occurred when he briefly stopped at Iyafemi Restaurant along Shiroro Road to buy food.
“I had just entered my car when a well-dressed man walked up to me and said if I moved he would kill me,” the bank customer said.
He explained that he initially thought the man was a police officer joking with him, but realised it was a robbery when the suspect cocked a rifle and pointed it at him.
During the Minna bank robbery attack, the bank customer said he managed to wrestle the rifle from the suspect and ran back into the restaurant while two other accomplices who were waiting nearby rushed toward his vehicle.
“I started firing the gun even though I had no experience using one. I believe I shot one of them in the forehead,” he said.
He added that the other two suspects dragged the injured robber toward their vehicle, which had been stained with blood, but when it refused to start, they abandoned it and escaped with his Toyota Corolla.
Police sources confirmed that the robbers forcefully dispossessed the victim of the money before fleeing the scene with his vehicle.
The Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer in Niger State, Wasiu Abiodun, also confirmed the Minna bank robbery attack.
Abiodun explained that the suspects abandoned the vehicle used for the operation and escaped with that of the victim.
“Police operatives attached to the Tudun-Wada Division later moved to the scene where they recovered the rifle and the abandoned vehicle,” he said.
He added that the victim also recovered one of the rifles believed to have been used by the attackers during the incident.
Police authorities said the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Minna for further investigation.
Efforts are currently ongoing to track down and apprehend the fleeing suspects.
