150 Armoured Bullion Vans Ready For Deployment From July 1 – ABOG President

The President of the Association of Bullion Operators Ghana (ABOG), Alhaji Iddi Sumaila, has disclosed that the association has 150 armoured bullion vans for financial institutions from July 1. 

His comments follow a bullion van attack at Ablekuma in Accra on Thursday, June 22, which left one police officer dead.

On this occasion, the financial institution used a pickup van with just one police escort, making it easier for the criminals.

Meanwhile, the police, in a statement on June 22, 2023, indicated that they were currently on a manhunt to arrest the robbers.

Commenting on the development, Alhaji Sumaila stated:  “We have about 150 bullion vans in the country. Most banks have signed contracts with us to deploy to them. It goes through a process for the banks to get it, and that takes time.”

“By July 1, we will see banks using armoured vehicles/bullion vans. However, other banks have not finalized the agreement with us,” he revealed in an interview monitored by The Ghana Report on 3FM.

It would be recalled that the central bank, in 2021, issued a directive for all financial institutions to procure the protective sophisticated vans, failure of which the Bank of Ghana said it would not admit any substandard or soft-skinned Cash-in-Transit (CIT) vehicles into any of its premises nationwide.

However, This deadline was extended to July 1, 2023, just after the James Town robbery attack on a bullion van in which a police officer was killed and another by- stander was hit with a stray bullet.

The robbery attacks on officers accompanying sub-standard vehicles for cash transfers forced the Inspector General of Police(IGP) to issue threats not to escort any vehicle without the necessary protection for police officers.