Inspector General of Police Usman Baba has called on officers to use intelligence gathering in fighting bandits and other criminals as he disclosed that a bloody bank robbery was averted in Ibadan.

Six suspects planning the robbery attack have been apprehended, according to the police.
Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi disclosed this in a statement. Mr Baba said preventive policing was important because it prevented crimes, engendered peace and ensured provision of optimal policing services to people.

The inspector general commended the police command in Oyo and the Force Intelligence Bureau Intelligence Response Squad (FIB-IRT) for their recent successes in crime fighting.

He said the operatives recorded the successes through deployment of technologically advanced assets, community based and the traditional policing methods and improved police visibility.

Mr Baba added that the achievements were recorded via identification, trailing and arrest of criminal suspects through actionable technical and human intelligence.

He explained that the intelligence led to the arrest of six members of a notorious bank robbery gang after concluding plans to execute a bloody bank robbery attack on a new generation bank in Ibadan.

The inspector general also mentioned that the FIB-IRT had also arrested five members of a fraud syndicate specialised in hacking into bank accounts of individuals and corporate bodies to steal money.

According to him, the suspects got apprehended while attempting to hack into a company’s account and steal N3.4 billion.

(NAN)