Award-winning police officer, Abba Kyari, is the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Ikeja, Lagos State. This is a position Kyari has held for almost two years, with several achievements. Considering what the team under him has been doing in Lagos State and other South West states in terms of combating crime in the last one year, one would agree that they have done phenomenally well in discharging their duty.
In a statement exclusively released to The Eagle Online on August 1, 2013, after several years of follow up and diligent investigation, Kyari led a team of detectives to Ibadan, Oyo State, where one Abiodun Egunjobi, better known as Godododo, the leader of the robbers terrorizing the South West, was arrested. Egunjobi was nabbed in his mansion at Olowu area of Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State with two Ak-47 rifles, 10 Ak-47 magazines fully loaded and a police bullet proof vest.
Egunjobi and his group have reportedly killed well over 50 policemen and several civilians. Shortly before his arrest, he was said to have killed the owner of 04 Hotel in Ajah, Lagos State along with his six other guests of the hotel and two policemen. He also robbed several other places in Lagos. Egunjobi was also said to have led bank robberies in Kwara, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo States.
The SARS operatives have arrested over 30 of his gang members and also recovered large chunk of arms and ammunition from them. After their arrest, the residents of Ajah and its environs as well as Lagos State and the whole South West states now have far less cases of armed robberies to deal with.
On June 24, based on painstaking follow up, surveillance and tracking of Ghana-based Nigerian armed robbers/kidnappers operating in full military uniforms armed with AK-47 rifles and who had earlier kidnapped the Chairman of Ejigbo Local Government Area of Lagos State, Hon. Kehinde Bamigbetan, Kyari, based on a GPS obtained from a car tracking data of a victim kidnapped on June 9, 2013, led a team of crack detectives to Edu Village, Agbara, Ogun State where the deadly kidnappers were apprehended. During the search of their camp, four Ak-47 rifles,28 Ak-47 magazines fully loaded with 30 rounds of live ammunitions were recovered. Charms, Army uniforms as well as their operational vehicles were recovered. A victim of the kidnappers, an Indian national, Vivex Changrani, who was kidnapped by the gang in Ikoyi area of Lagos State, was successfully rescued from their camp without any injury.
The statement by Kyari further revealed that on June 12, 2013, a radio message intercepted from the Police Control Room confirmed that a group of hoodlums struck and snatched a Honda Odyssey Space Wagon at gunpoint along Abeokuta Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos State and subsequently attacked policemen attached to Adeniji Adele Division at Idumagbo, Lagos State on June 14. The SARS swung into action and laid a siege at Eko Bridge where the robbers were nabbed. Five of the bandits were fatally wounded while a few escaped with bullet wounds. Two automatic pump action guns, 50 live cartridges, three AK-47 magazines, three locally made pistol and several expensive phones from their operational vehicle, an Honda Odyssey car, which they had earlier snatched for the purpose of the operation, were recovered.
On June 16, Kyari received information that a deadly armed robber, Mustapha Owolabi, popularly known as Gbebo, whose gang had been terrorizing Lagos and neighboring states, resides in Alagbado area of Lagos State. A team of crack operatives of SARS swung into action and arrested the said Owolabi, who, on interrogation, confessed to series of armed robbery operations within Lagos and Ogun States. During the operation, two AK-47 rifles, seven AK-47 magazines fully loaded, 118 rounds of live AK-47 rifle ammunition, three singles barrel pistols and double barrel pistols were recovered from the gang.
On a tip off, SP Abba Kyari arrested a human parts dealers identified as Jamiu Adeleke. The 40-year-old man was nabbed by SARS operatives in Owode town, Ogun State with a human hand that he was about selling for N21,000. Jamiu confessed that one Sanni Kazeem sold the human hand to him for N6,000. When Sanni was arrested, he confessed that he had supplied two human heads to a dealer whose name was given as Akiwowo Fatai, who was equally arrested. Akiwowo confessed receiving the two human heads and also four heads from another supplier, identified as Agboola Kolawole.
The O/C SARS has also doubled efforts by sending more detectives to these environs to arrest the remaining suspects at large. In April this year, Kyari, on a tip off, heard that some gang of deadly armed robbers were at Orisunbare Street in Ayobo area of Lagos State, preparing for an operation. A team of detectives, which he personally led, swung into action. Kazeem Adebola was arrested during the operation, which raked in AK-47 rifles and 17 magazines concealed in one Honda Civic Saloon car.
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