A mob has reportedly set ablaze buildings of two banks – Sterling and Diamond – located in Apapa, Lagos, after a policeman attached to one of the banks allegedly shot dead three trailer drivers.
The unidentified policeman was said to have objected to the parking of a trailer in front of the bank, after which a brawl ensued between him and the driver.
He reportedly shot the driver dead while two other drivers who tried to intervene were also said to have been killed by the policeman.
Angered by the incident, the mob, most of which were said to be the driver’s colleagues, set the bank on fire and the nearby Sterling Bank building.
An account by Sterling Bank stated that the armed mobile policeman who flee from the irate mob disrupted banking operations at the Sterling Bank branch on Creek Road Wednesday as he ran into the premises of the bank to escape being lynched.
Security operatives attached to the bank disarmed and arrested the fleeing mobile policeman but did not hand him over to the irate mob.
The mob got upset and attacked the bank with the intention of unleashing mayhem on staff and customers. The branch’s reception area was vandalized and set ablaze.
The security operatives attached to the branch prevented the mob from entering the branch while evacuating staff and customers before the arrival of police reinforcement. The branch has been temporarily shut down.
“We wish to inform all our customers that normal services will continue at nearby branches and through all our electronic channels.
“Sterling Bank is working with security agencies to resolve the issue,” a statement by Henry Bassey, Chief Marketing Officer, Brand Management & Communications Group of the bank said.