The Nigerian Army has said that no money was carted away when its military vehicle was attacked by armed robbers on Wednesday in Benin, Edo State.
Capt. Yemi Sokoya, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, in a statement on Friday in Benin, said that media reports suggesting that the hoodlums made away with Ghana-Must-Go bags containing money were inaccurate.
Sokoya, who is the Public Relations Officer of the 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Benin, said “efforts are ongoing with other security agencies to arrest the suspects and bring them to book”.
“The attention of the Nigerian Army (NA) has been drawn to a series of inaccurate narratives in the media space in respect of an attack on a military hilux vehicle at Akpakpava road by some armed gunmen on Wednesday, 23 August, 2023.
“Contrary to several reports, a clerk from 4 Brigade Finance office and a driver went to town to fix the office printer and also stopped at WEMA bank to process and collect a bank statement.
“The armed gang in a red Toyota Camry car, who must have trailed and noticed that the soldiers were not armed, opened fire on the vehicle, at a traffic light junction probably thinking the soldiers were carrying money.
“But when they discovered that the vehicle was empty, they zoomed off. Unfortunately, some of the bullets hit the driver on the chest and he died.
“A lot of reports have insinuated that the armed robbers made away with huge cash in a Ghana-Must-Go bag. That is entirely false, as no cash was involved,” said the Army spokesperson.
