IG's Armored Tankers for Commercial Banks

For two years running, there has been an unprecedented siege by armed bandits on premises and vaults of banks in the country, thus raising serious concern about the safety of the industry and people’s investments.

The attacks come in torrents leaving in their trail blood and pains. Worst hit areas are Lagos, Port Harcourt and of recent, Abuja. And even rural branches of banks are not spared as many of them have come under the volley of armed robbers’ bullets.

The story of the attacks are chilling and in most cases, quite gory. For instance, two weeks ago, armed bandits struck at an old generation bank located along Iju Road, a suburb of Lagos State, carting away millions of naira and killing over six people who included three police officers and a school child.

Three weeks before that operation, armed bandits also attacked a bank in Ikorodu area of Lagos, killing five people and carting away millions of naira.
Banks around Okota, Ketu and Isolo areas of Lagos have often been targets of armed robbers who sometimes number as many as 30 for an operation.
In Imo State, a branch of an old generation bank was recently razed and the entire bank looted of money and other property. Estimates put the total amount lost to the men of the underworld by banks in the country at over N2.5 billion in just two years.

One intriguing aspect of the robbers’ attacks is their method of operation. It is no longer a hit-and-run affair as was the case in the past. Today’s bank robbers can now dare law enforcement agents and confront them in a one-to-one shootout and can operate within their target premises for several hours, turning an entire neighbourhood into a war zone.

To prove that they mean business, the robbers now approach their targets not only with heavy guns, but also with other instruments for forceful entry such as axes, welding equipment, dynamite and sometimes, bombs. While all these go on, security personnel appear helpless with little or no answer to the spectre of brigandage. The excuse has often been made that the robbers use weapons superior to those of the police and even out-number the security personnel.

At the peak of the crisis last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) opened discussions with banks with a view to finding a lasting solution to the menace.
It was agreed then that each bank should provide at least one Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to strengthen police fire-power. However, the banks are yet to respond to the agreement while robbers are intensifying their attacks and improving on their methods.

The last that was heard of the APCs was that they were trapped at the ports and awaiting clearance for eventual distribution to the 36 states of the Federation. Apparently miffed by the delay in bringing in the APCs and the spate of killings of his men and officers, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro had told the bankers to provide bullet and bomb-proof bullion vans or forget about having police escorts for their activities. Regrettably, one month after the expiry of the order, only one bank out of the 25 operating in the country has provided bullet-proof bullion vans for its operations.

Abba Dandago, an official of the bank, agreed that there is general insecurity in the banking industry, saying that his organisation’s use of bullet-proof vehicles is meant to substantially improve the general level of security of its cash movement operations nationwide. This, he said, was sequel to the September, 2007 directive by the IGP to all the 25 commercial banks operating in the country to procure these armoured vehicles for their operations in order to stem the incidence of fatal armed robbery attacks on bank vehicles conveying cash from one location to the other.

Worried by the high incidence of armed robbery on banks and other financial institutions, the Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Ahmed Ibi, said that the police still stand by the October 27, 2007 deadline issued by the Inspector General of Police (IG), for banks to provide bullet-proof bullion vans for policemen who escort money or in the alternative, move their money by themselves. He warned that his men would be withdrawn from the banks if the requirements were not met. According to him, despite the importance of the order by the IG, many bank managers in the state have refused to turn up for the meeting called to remind them of the need to meet up with the IG's requests.

He said the order became necessary owing to the rampant loss of lives of his men as a result of attacks by armed robbers while escorting bulk monies from one place to the other. He explained that it was only in Nigeria that police provide security to banks, saying, "Policing banks is the responsibility of the bank as is the case everywhere around the world, and if we are helping to guard your banks, you must be seen to improve in your efforts because a lot of our men die while escorting your monies."

Many Nigerians have adduced reasons why armed attacks are increasing on banks. For instance, the Commissioner of Police, Borno State Command, Alhaji Danlami Yar’Adua blamed the current high incidence of robbery on unemployment and greed, as well as lack of patience on the part of the youth. According to him, “We cannot talk about the security situation in the banks on the pages of newspapers. We’d rather discuss it with them. Some weeks ago, when I convened a meeting with bankers in the state, I told them that inasmuch as they want to remain in the profession, they must ensure that they provide adequate security in their banks. And you know they cannot provide adequate security without the police. It is the police that guard the banks, escort the money and are responsible for tackling any security challenge in the bank.”

To arrest the situation, the police commissioner said, “banks should be individually connected to our control room here at the headquarters. There is what we call alarm system. So that when a robbery is taking place, someone whose duty it is to notify the police would just press a button and at the control room it would show. And in a short time, my men will be there.

“I told them also that robbers of today are highly sophisticated. Sometimes they operate with dynamite to bomb the strongroom if they cannot find the keys. Again, I reminded them that the best way they can confront robbers in the banks is through the utilisation of what we call APCs. These are armoured vehicles that are obtainable from our squadrons all over the state. These are bullet-proof cars and they can engage robbers on any scale or at any range.”

Former Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, harped on what attracts robbers to banks, as well as suggesting what could enhance maximum security and safety within the banking establishments. According to him, what usually attracts robbers to banks is keeping huge amount of money, among other things.

He said, “There is a stipulated amount of money that is supposed to be kept in commercial banks and immediately it is beyond that point, it should be transferred directly to control banks under adequate police escort. Otherwise, such a bank becomes vulnerable to robbery attack.”
The police boss said that an insider in the bank can give information to robbers and this is why the management of banks and other financial institutions should screen and monitor properly the type of applicants they employ to work with them. Adebayo also mentioned careless talk as one reason why a bank can attract robbers. He said that discussions of money coming or leaving the bank should not be done in the open because information spreads like wild fire and criminals can easily capitalise on such to unleash mayhem.

“Sometimes banks employ criminals without knowing. A man was a cult member when in the university and has refused to change. He applies to a bank and he is employed. Such a bank has employed a prospective armed robber already, who will be giving information to his gang for possible attack on the bank."

Adebayo talked about contract security, which entails the employment of a cheap and untrained person on contract as a security staff and paid peanuts, which could be dangerous to the security of the bank because such a person can easily be bought over by criminals. The police commissioner added that cash movement that is not accompanied by adequate police escort can spell doom for the bank while lack of prompt information to the police when a person is suspected around the banking environment and he is not immediately reported to the police can be dangerous.

“Allowing people to come into the bank through the back door after the normal banking hours can reveal secret entrances into the bank and this should be avoided," he said. Adebayo gave tips that could enhance maximum security and safety within the banking establishment. “Security alarms should be installed in banks and connected to police stations for emergency alert and response. The use of credit cards in the banks should be encouraged to reduce excess liquidity. Electronic devices that can detect metals like guns and other dangerous weapons are desirable.

“The use of electronic devices that can take photograph of people visiting the bank during and after banking hours to monitor operations is very essential. The employment of banking staff should be accompanied by letter of referees who are men of integrity and honour and not people of questionable character.”

Mr Adebayo said only few principal officers of the bank should be allowed access into the strong room, adding that banks should train their security staff to acquire the skill and power of observation while special people should also be trained to monitor them. Other security measures advocated include the provision of security escort for customers carrying huge amounts of money and advising them to do the same when coming to the bank with large sums of money.

A security expert with one of the security agencies has also advised that every bank staff must have the right security orientation and adequate awareness must be created for the good of the bank. This, he said, would help them to easily detect any criminal move or strategy, adding that every bank staff must have his or her fingerprints taken. He also advised that the employment process should be able to screen and detect criminal-minded applicants through proper investigation of lifestyle and types of friends he or she keeps, school records and records of former employment.

“Huge amount of money should not be counted at the counter. This should be done at secluded area of the bank. Moreover, phone calls should not be allowed in the bank premises during banking hours,” the expert added. He also said that to nip in the bud any plans by hoodlums, operatives of Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Lagos State Police Command are currently undergoing operational tutelage.

This, he said, was to enable them infiltrate suspected criminal hideouts and gather information about their activities. He added that since the robbers can easily have access to automatic rifles and submachine guns to perpetrate their evil, policing and security would be made easier by providing better weapons and ammunition for the police. “The banks should also install electronically automated barricades in the banking hall, which will be able to shut down and close or confine the robbers within the banking hall or bank premises when activated until the police come in and get them arrested. This will also act as a preventive mechanism against bank robberies,” he said.

CP Adebayo also advised that the police should be encouraged by way of the banks pooling their resources to establish an insurance welfare scheme for the benefit of police officers who get injured while fighting the robbers. This, he said, would act as a motivation for the police in tackling bank robberies. He also called for concerted efforts from government and other well-meaning Nigerians to equip the Marine Police with fast-moving boats and other working instruments to enable them comb the creeks and waterways surrounding cosmopolitan Lagos.

Nowadays, he said, armed sea pirates terrorise persons on the waterways and have in the past penetrated through the creeks and lagoons to rob banks on the Island and Mainland. "A case is the robbery attack on a bank at Chevron in Lekki Peninsula. The police succeeded in foiling the robbery, but the robbers escaped across the lagoon," he said. "Provision of police security for commercial banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria is sacrosanct but quite expensive and has a huge financial implication. However, we have no choice than to support the capital intensive drive of maintaining and sustaining a virile, dependable, professional and articulate police force that can stand the test of time and also provide the much anticipated security for all this millennium."

The Chief Internal Auditor of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Ibrahim Kwargana, traced the cause of bank fraud and armed robbery to the deregulation of the banking system which brought along unprecedented expansion in the number of banks, branches and personnel.
Other causes, according to him, are inadequate supervision of personnel, dearth of skilled manpower arising from rapid expansion of the banking industry without commensurate increase in expertise, general poverty among majority of people in the country and manipulation of computers to commit fraud.

Kwargana mentioned some counter measures to bank fraud and forgery, which include recruitment of quality staff and continuous training, maintenance of thorough and close supervision of bank employees, strict adherence to banking professional code of conduct and practice devoid of cultural and social sentiments, and strict enforcement of personnel policies.

He also mentioned moral and ethical management culture which, he said, should begin from top management to the lowest cadre and predicated on integrity and good moral conduct among staff, and arrest, prosecution and punishment of fraudsters beyond recovery of stolen funds as some of the panacea for bank robberies. He added that publications of banking institutions should not be shy to publicise incidences of fraud because of competitors. "To conceal it is to encourage it. Rather, it should be made open and such culprits blacklisted, while relevant institutions such as CBN, NDIC and CIBN should effect adequate control, supervision, monitoring to all banks and staff," he recommended.

Talking about counter-measures to bank robberies, Kwargana said, “In view of the increasing spate of bank robberies as a veritable component of bank losses, it is imperative that the traditional physical security measures adopted for cash in transit, cash in premises and vault cash require major overhauling.”
According to him, in the realisation of this threat, the Bankers' Committee and Committee of Chief Inspectors have come up with a blueprint for checkmating robbery cases. "Beyond the holistic industry-wide approach, banks should implement specific strategic and tactical measures against the menace of armed robberies covering cash in vault, cash in transit and cash in premises," he said.

A financial analyst, Mr. Hembe Terhide, tasked people to be security conscious because when walking into a bank branch, there may be someone looking and watching every move.
According to him, the objectives of security management are prevention, dissuasion regarding potential perpetrators and detection for authorities to identify criminals within the framework of statutory provisions. Terhide said that branch operation security management can be achieved through procedures, information technology tools and training.

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