At least five residents died from gunfire Monday night when Boko Haram insurgents attacked a bank in Michika, Adamawa State, the state police command confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
“Five people died and the place they went to attack, that’s Union Bank, was badly destroyed,” the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Othman Abubakar, said while giving an update on the attack.
The command said the Boko Haram insurgents were not out for their usual mission of scaring people and destroying things and going away, but purposely to steal from the town’s only bank branch.
He said the insurgents must have run out of money and targeted the bank for a refill.
“Their motive must have been to go and get money. That would be why they went directly to hit the bank. I was made to understand that money was moved to the bank earlier that day. They must have monitored the bank and went purposely for the money,” Othman said.
He said the insurgents were however unable to get to the money, because policemen and soldiers and other security agents stormed the place and succeeded in forcing the insurgents to flee.
He added that the five residents, who died, might have been victims of stray bullets as they ran helter skelter, or directly from the bullets of the insurgents as they shot sporadically to scare people away.
“They must have died from crossfire and from the sporadic shootings by the insurgents,” Othman said.
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