Brave Police Officer Who Survived Zenith Bank Armed Robbery Attack In Owerri Cries Out (Photos)

The police officer who survived the armed robbery attack at Zenith Bank on February 22, 2017, at the ever busy Wetheral Road, Owerri, Imo State, Sergeant Otu Attang, has cried out to public spirited individuals and organizations to come to his assistance and not allow him die in his pathetic condition.

The viral video footage of the armed robbery attack on the bank where a bank customer was said to have been robbed N2.5M, leading to a gun battle between the police officers attached to the bank, had gone viral on the internet on Thursday, June 8, 2017. The attack left one of the armed robbers dead by the gallant police officers, while two others that escaped were later arrested by the Imo State Police Command.

Ifeanyicy.com gathered that one of the police officers, Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko, from Abia State, who displayed uncommon gallantry, going by the CCTV footage, died around 4am of 23 February 2017, while the second officer who also sustained severe injuries died at about the hours of 3pm on 23 February 2017.

Speaking with the sole survivor of the armed robbery attack, Sergeant Otu Attang, during an exclusive interview with the blogger in Owerri on Saturday(today), the embattled policeman said he was the first victim to get a gunshot from the armed robbers when they entered the bank premises, saying that the gunshot hit him in the eye and he lost his right eye.

According to the heroic sergeant who lives in a decrepit batcher with his family of three in Owerri, the three police officers: Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko (from Abia State), Sergeant Sunday Agbo (Benue State), and himself, Sergeant Otu Attang (from Akwa-Ibom State), were critically injured as they sustained gunshot wounds from the attack.

He disclosed that they were rushed to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Owerri, where one of them, Sergeant Chuwkudi Iboko, gave up the ghost at about 4am on 23 February, 2017.

He said that the two of them were therefore transferred to the Police Clinic in the early hours of February 23, 2017, even as the second officer, Sergeant Sunday Agbo, from Benue State, gave up the ghost at the Police Clinic at about 3pm same day.

He further disclosed that Zenith Bank provided N400,000 for their treatment while they were at the FMC Owerri, and another N200,000 for their treatment while they were at the Police Clinic, saying that thereafter he has been left to cater for himself and family with a meager salary.

“Iboko died by 4am on February 23 and we were transferred to the Police Clinic by Shell Camp, Owerri. Sunday Agbo died same day at about 3pm while we were at the Police Clinic.

“I underwent a lot of X-rays and surgeries, and it was discovered that I need to undergo eye surgery. I had my eye surgery at Mercy Hospital, Orji, and I was on clutches for a month and three weeks as my left leg was badly battered by bullets. I also went through a surgery to repair my feet at my own cost”, he said.

He also disclosed that the doctors said he still has bullets in his head, down to his jaw, saying that he needs about N3M for the recommended surgeries on his skull and further treatment on his eyes. He said that even though he had undergone eye surgery he still needs treatment for his eyes, as he now wears artificial eye.

Asked why he left the Police Clinic, he said that while he was at the clinic he was fending for himself, except for the day the former CP and now AIG Taiwo Lakanu intervened and accepted to pay the N20,000 daily charge, leaving him to pay for his medications and other expenses.

He also said that when he was to do his eye surgery, he was told to pay additional N20,000 to the Police Clinic for using the clinic’s theater while paying N40,000 for the surgery, pointing out that that was outside paying for medications and the eye glasses. He said the cost of his treatment was too much for him.

He said the unbearable cost of his treatment forced him to go to Mercy Hospital, Orji, which he said is a medical consultant to the police, and got it cheaper. He added that it was his aunty that provided the money for the eye surgery because his children were scared of his battered eye.

He also lamented that the former CP who is now AIG Lakanu had visited them at the FMC on the day of the incident and told them he had spoken with the IGP who ordered their names be recommended for promotion because of their gallantry.

He regretted that even though his colleagues had died, he has not heard anything about the promotion, since he is the only survivor. He wondered why his promotion as promised cannot be effected, even when he has been permanently disabled and lost his eye in his selfless service to the police and the fatherland.

According to him, all efforts to resolve the matter since Lakanu left Imo State Police Command has not worked, saying that a high rank officer whom he was referred to by AIG Lakanu said it was not his duty to recommend people for promotion.

He also said that his efforts to get the management of Zenith Bank at Wetheral Road where they were attacked by the armed robbers has yielded no result, as he has been told to thank God he did not die, and that the management did not have the power to authorize such expenditure.

Sergeant Otu Attang therefore calls on well-meaning individuals and organizations to come to his aide so that he can undergo the skull surgery as recommended by a consultant neuro-surgeon.