The other group were intercepted at Abule Egba junction same day at about 1.00pm by SP Abba Kyari as they were going to United Bank for Africa UBA Isolo Road, Ajao Estate. In a heavy exchange of fire with the hoodlums seven of the armed robbers were fatally wounded while two of the robbers Olubode Mudashiru aged 27 and Gbenga Joseph aged 48 were arrested with bullet wounds.
Two AK47 rifles, eight AK47 magazines fully loaded three locally made double barrel pistols, sixty-five live cartridges along with two of their operational vehicles Toyota Sienna AKD 54 AG and Nissan Sonny BT 914 APP were recovered.
Information also revealed that one of their operational vehicles, a golden colour Toyota Camry carrying three AK47 rifles and two rocket launchers has already passed Abule Egba junction towards Ajao Estate/Mushin Area.
OC SARS acting on the strength of this information, deployed a crack team and hearing that the escaped gang members with the golden colour Toyota Camry headed straight to the Hotel, Meiran area of Lagos they headed straight to the hotel to get them.
After a heavy exchange of fire at the hotel Kabiru Sulaiman whose original name is Tunji Bamidele aged 28 was arrested with one AK47 rifle with 23 live ammunition and a big empty travelling bag.
A robbery suspect arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command after an exchange of gunshots has said that he surrendered to the police because his gun suddenly went bad during the battle.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kabiru Suleiman, a.k.a. KB, reasoned that he risked being shot dead at the Olak Hotel, Meiran, Lagos scene of the gun battle on March 8 if he had not thrown his arms in the air in total surrender.
Narrating the circumstances that led to the incident, Kabiru said: “I started armed robbery with the aid of okada (commercial motorcycle) about six years ago. I also owned a barbing salon in Mushin.
“Sometime last year, I was caught stealing a motorcycle in Mushin, Lagos, and was charged to court at Area D, following which I was remanded in prison. When my bail was perfected by my friends, I decided to join their robbery gang. The gang was made up of Ijebu, AY, Saheed, myself and Pencil, the gang leader.
“It was in the prison that I got Pencil’s GSM number. I obtained it from a senior inmate called Ogbologbo. He was in the same cell with me. When I came out of prison, I called his GSM number and told him that I wanted to join his gang.
“He asked whether I knew how to operate ‘senior guns’ like AK47 rifles and I said yes. He asked whether I knew that it was a no-mercy job and whether I could shoot people, and I said yes.
“After I joined them, we did three operations in Abeokuta and one in Lagos. The other members were based in Abeokuta while I lived on Way Street, Mushin. I don’t have a permanent residence. I used to sleep on the tables or benches used by traders on the street.
“The other gang members used to invite me any time there was an ‘operation’ to carry out and they would tell me the place they wanted to rob.”
He said he was not inviting them for operations in Lagos because he noticed that the security in the city was tight.
He said: “In other states like Ogun and Kwara, once we finished operation and none of us was caught immediately, we knew that the police would not look for us even if we operated three times. But in Lagos, once the Commissioner of Police hears that any gang has operated, he will pursue the gang even if they enter an ant’s hole.
“The operation that made SARS operatives to arrest me was the one in which two gangs planned to rob a bank in Lagos. Our gang was to join the other one before we ran into SARS operatives at Ola Hotels in Meiran (Lagos).
“The two gangs wanted to rob a branch of UBA on Osolo Way, Ajao Estate, Lagos. They other gang’s members were coming from the Sango end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and we planned to join them at Abule Egba. On getting to Abule Egba, we heard that they sensed danger and they turned back.
“Not satisfied that the bank operation failed, our leader, Pencil, said we should not go back to Abeokuta empty-handed. We made a U-turn, took Meiran Road and stopped at Olac Hotel to re-strategise. At about 8.30 pm, five of us entered the hotel, bought beer and ‘spirit’ and were drinking and smoking.
“One of us went out to receive a phone call, but on getting outside, he saw a large crowd, including policemen. He ran back and alerted us that there was danger. We immediately opened our travelling bag containing three AK47 rifles and two pistols. Pencil took one AK47 and I took another. AY also took one while the others shared the two pistols.
“We were set to confront the police at the main gate and shoot our way out of the hotel. But Pencil, who took the main gate to confront the crowd and the police, ran back when he saw that the fire power of the police was too much. He said the police were well positioned and were firing into the air, ready to fire at anybody coming out from the hotel.
“Some people in the hotel ran for dear lives through the back gate and other members of the gang, including Pencil, also escaped. I did not follow them because I thought that Pencil had run back to bring other members of the gang in order to match the fire power of the police. But he escaped, leaving me confused.
“In that circumstance, I had no alternative but to surrender myself to the police when they ordered me to drop my AK47. They noticed that my rifle had hung and could not fire. I obeyed and they handcuffed me and whisked me away.
“I later learnt that one of my colleagues who wanted to scale the fence was shot. But I don’t know whether he eventually escaped. I heard that Pencil’s bullets caught some of the civilians and policemen, but I don’t know how true since I was bundled into SARS’ vehicle and chained to it.
“I was not the gang’s armourer. Any member of the gang could be ordered by Pencil to carry the bag and it was my turn to carry it that day. That is why you see it with me. The important thing was that anybody who carried the bag had to hold it like a traveller to avoid being suspected by the police and members of the public.
“It was after the police had forced their way into the hotel that they realised that there was another exit gate at the back. The police would not have been able to arrest me if my AK47 rifle had not refused to fire. I was outside the gate with Pencil and both of us were initially firing before my rifle hung (That was before Pencil retreated). It was by God’s mercy that I survived. The way the police were firing into the air at the gate, I did not know that I would survive until they handcuffed me and took me into their operations vehicle. If any civilian was shot, it was a bullet from inside the hotel not from the outside of it.”
A recent report had quoted a woman as alleging that her husband was shot dead in the area by some men suspected to be SARS operatives during an exchange of gunshots.
Contacted for comments, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said: “I would like to see a copy of the said publication before I respond.”
The other group were intercepted at Abule-Egba junction the same day at about 1.00pm by SP Abba Kyari as they were heading for a commercial bank on Isolo Road, Ajao Estate. In a heavy exchange of fire with the hoodlums, seven of them were fatally wounded, while two of the suspected robber,s Olubode Mudashiru, 27, and Gbenga Joseph, 48, were arrested with bullet wounds.
According to police sources, two AK47 rifles, eight AK47 magazines fully loaded, three locally made double barrel pistols, 65 live cartridges along with two of their operational vehicles, a Toyota Sienna AKD 54 AG and Nissan Sonny BT 914 APP were recovered from the suspects.
Information also revealed that one of their operational vehicles, a golden colour Toyota Camry carrying three AK47 rifles and two rocket launchers had already sped past Abule-Egba junction towards Ajao Estate, Mushin Area. OC SARS, acting on the strength of this information, deployed a crack team and headed straight for the hotel in Meiran area of Lagos to confront them.
After a heavy exchange of fire at the hotel, Kabiru Sulaiman, whose original name is Tunji Bamidele, aged 28, was arrested with one AK47 rifle with 23 live ammunition and a big empty travelling bag.
