1-person dead, 2others severely injured in botched robbery attack

Police in the Tatale-Sanguli District of the Northern Region have confirmed one person dead and two others severely injured in a bloody clash between residents of Bilanjor, near Tatale, and two suspected armed robbers.

The incident, according to Police account, occurred between 8pm and 9pm Tuesday, when two armed men mounted a roadblock at the outskirt of a village called Bilanjor, about 400 meters away from Tatale, the district capital, in an attempt to rob their victims of money, mobile phones and other belongings.

According to the Police, the criminals, hiding under the darkness during the night, signalled their first victims, a motor rider and his pillion rider with torchlights to stop.

The riders, police said, were traveling from Tatale to Sanguli but were attacked when they were about to enter Bilanjor. The robbers demanded the riders to surrender their belongings, which they refused.

This angered the robbers who hit the main rider with a stick, but he managed to escape and sped off with his pillion rider to the nearest community and spread the news to the people of Bilanjor. The youth in the Bilanjor community quickly mobilised to face the suspected criminals.

Two of the youth who arrived at the scene on motorbikes, with the intent to engage the suspected robbers, were attacked with cutlasses.

They sustained severe injuries but managed to shoot at the robbers, who then fled into the bush.

Other residents got to the scene with weapons and pursued the attackers. One was found dead during the search near a stream around a village called Mongoli.

The two injured persons, identified as Nfobil and Ndombe, are currently receiving treatment at the Tatale Polyclinic.

Some two months ago, a similar robbery attack took place at Tatale market, leading to the death of at least seven people.

From Edmond Gyebi, Tamale.