A deadly bank robbery in Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Wednesday afternoon, reportedly left five people dead, including two officers of the Amotekun security outfit.

The robbers, who wore masks, stormed commercial banks along the major road in the town and opened fire to gain access to the banks’ premises.

Eye witnesses said the robbers positioned themselves in strategic locations and shot indiscriminately for up to an hour, causing panic and chaos among the residents.

Some of the victims were hit by the robbers’ bullets while trying to escape to safety.

It was gathered that the masked armed robbers, numbering about twenty, stormed the town at about 4:15 pm and robbed the banks located at Odo Oja and Oke-osun simultaneously.

According to sources, they first attacked the Ikere command of the Amotekun Corps along Ise Road and reportedly shot some operatives before attacking the banks.

The armed robbers broke the security doors of the banks with the aid of dynamite, and carted away an unspecified huge sum of money.

However, the Ekiti State Police spokesman, Sunday Abutu could not be reached as of the time of filing this report, as several calls and messages to his mobile phone were not responded to.

Meanwhile, in a telephone chat, the Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Adejimi Alagbado expressed shock over the robbery incident.

He said it was unfortunate the armed robbers carried out the operations for several minutes unhindered and escaped despite the presence of military checkpoints and a Police Area Command in the town.

Oba Alagbado said he had discussed the matter with the security agents and that those who carried out the dastardly act must be arrested and prosecuted.