Attempts by a four-man robbery gang on Friday morning to steal a car in the Ogun State Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, was foiled by the police.
The secretariat houses the Governor’s Office, the state House of Assembly and most of the ministries and parastatals of the Ogun State Government.
It is the office of the state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Sources told The Eagle Online that the robbers arrived at the secretariat shortly after 9am in a Nissan Quest with registration number BK 944 RSH.
It was leartn that they attempted stealing a Toyota Camry car with registration number AKM 146 AA.
The owner of the vehicle had parked it behind the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which is close to Amosun’s office.
But the alarm of the vehicle was said to have triggered, leading the owner, who had by then seen the robbers, to raise the alarm.
While trying to escape, the robbers did not see a policeman who had laid ambush for them based on the alarm raised.
The policeman shot one of the robbers in the thigh.
They subsequently abandoned their vehicle, fleeing on foot into the nearby bush.
But a team of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad shot one of them dead.
Amosun, who was in the office while the drama was playing out, has vowed to rid the state of armed robbers.
He said insecurity was one of the challenges he met when he assumed office.
While thanking the police team for foiling the attempt to steal within the secretariat, Amosun said: “This is part of what we met on ground.
“I told you before that to buy guns in Ogun State is easier than to buy water or a bottle of Coca-Cola and that is the example of what we have seen.
“Imagine if people now have the effrontery to say they want to come into the secretariat. It is unheard of.”
The Commissioner, Ogun State Police Command, Nicholas Nkemdeme, said: “This is one of the most embarrassing situations I have ever met.
“I don’t know what they wanted and I am very happy that my boys gave them what they wanted.”
Amosun recently set up the Joint Police/ Military Task Force, whose operations have drastically reduced the menace of armed robbery in the state.