The Police in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State is investigating 8 suspects in connection with the robbery of 1, 853,300 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) from two different locations in the state.

One million SSP was stolen from a women’s network in Aweil North County on 27 November while 853,300 SSP was robbed at gunpoint from a school in Aweil town on 3 December.

The state’s police spokesman, Captain Guot Guot Akot, said the police have apprehended the suspected robbers who attacked the South Sudan Education Center in Aweil town and robbed 853,300 SSP.

“On Friday at midnight, some criminals attacked South Sudan Education Center in Aweil town and tied the security guards who were employed to guard the school,” Capt. Guot said. “They (criminals) broke into the money safe and made away with all the money. After they ran away, our patrol team arrested the first three, and later the other three were also arrested. Investigations are ongoing but the criminals have not brought back a single coin.”

The Aweil North County police inspector, Brigadier General Mabior Deng Deng, confirmed that one million SSP was stolen from a women network there and revealed that two suspects have been detained.

“The suspects in the Aweil North robbery case are two.  One of them is a young man called Wol who is an orphan and has severally served time for breaking into shops and houses,” Gen. Deng said. “He has been to prison many times but has failed to change.”

William Wek Nyang, the headmaster at the secondary school section of the South Sudan Education Center, said the criminals robbed more than 800,000 SSP from the facility at gunpoint after torturing and tying the guards.

“What happened was a real robbery, not stealing, because on 3 December a criminal gang came in the night with guns and tortured them (guards), fired two live bullets in the air to deter them, and then tied them down and the looting process started at gunpoint,” Wek said.