Get armoured vehicles before February 1 or ...IG warns banks

Adelowo Oladipo, Dele Aderibigbe, Lagos - 29.01.2008

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro, has warned that banks that failed to acquire the recommended Armoured Cash In Transit Vehicles (ACTVs) on or before February 1 would have all their police escorts withdrawn.

The police boss, in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune at the weekend in Lagos, said the order became necessary if the police were to reduce killing of policemen through armed robbery attacks during cash in transits with panel vans.

Accordingly, Mr. Okiro said: “As from February 1, 2008, I am not ready to expose any of my policemen to incessant armed robbery attacks any longer, and any bank that is not ready to acquire the internationally-accepted ACTVs would have all policemen attached to such bank withdrawn.”

Okiro, who observed that the force was losing an average of 10 policemen to armed robbery attacks daily across the country, said that banks had in 2005 agreed to provide armoured personnel carriers to the police to aid them in fighting crimes, but had, however, failed to do anything about it till date.

He noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had repeatedly confessed that all the so-called bullion vans being used for the movement of cash in the country by banks had failed all known standard tests for ACTVs across the globe, adding that no one had deemed it fit since then to act with a view to saving the lives of policemen and bank officials.

“The banks insured their cash, so when it is stolen, they get paid back in full, but no one insures any of my policemen against any unforeseen dangers ahead, while escorting the cash.

“So, any bank that fails to get the internationally-accepted ACTVs will have all policemen attached to it withdrawn, because I am not prepared to lose any policeman escorting cash again,” Okiro declares.