Veteran 'I have been robbing for 20 years' - Lagos bank robbery kingpin confesses

The armed robbery kingpin arrested for robbing banks in Lagos state Nigeria said he had been in crime for 20 years.

The notorious armed robbery kingpin who was the brain behind the spate of bank robberies in Lagos and Ogun States in the past one year, Clement Abanara, also known as Millions, has confessed that he has been involved in crime in the past 20 years and using the money he make to maintain his high lifestyle and his chieftaincy title.

Abanara who was arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), last week at his hideout in Osayande estate, Benin, Edo State, is believed to be the mastermind of the robberies that took place in banks in Ikorodu, Lekki, Festac, all in Lagos, and in Agbara, in Ogun State, where millions of naira were carted away just as many lives were wasted by his gang, where he would disguise himself as a woman during those attacks.

The 42-year-old Millions, a father of six, who hails from Ogbembri village in Delta State, told the police that he is a titled chief in his state, further told the police that he was bestowed with the chieftaincy title in 2014 but that the demands of the title soon became overwhelming that he had to resort to armed robbery.

“In 2014, I was conferred with a chieftaincy title of Ebimewe, which means someone who is doing well, but the high financial demands of my new title made me to join a bank robbery gang to get enough money to maintain my new status in the society.

I am one of the militants granted amnesty when we surrendered our guns. The Federal Government used to pay each of us N65,000 every month and I was also involved in black market oil sale. I was making a lot of money from it and I built a mansion. I actually helped people.

I was also into kidnapping and I have been operating for 20 years now. I was doing well in the business when Togo lured me into the robbery gang. I have participated in about four bank robbery operations.

We used to come from the creeks to operate in Lagos. Other members of the gang included Kelly, Kakadu, Dike, Ossy and John Togo.

One day, Togo begged me to lend him N300, 000 to go and buy something in Lagos. I did not know he was planning how to rob banks in Lagos. I could not say no to him for security reasons.

I participated in the two bank robbery operations at Ikorodu and the ones at FESTAC, Agbara and Lekki. We got about N66 million in Agbara and my share was N2.5m. In FESTAC, we got N23 million and my share was N800,000.

About 26 of us used 13 guns for the FESTAC operation and we went in two buses. In Ikorodu, during the first operation, we got N12 million but my own share was N500,000, while in the second operation, I got N800,000 out of the N62 million we got.

I perceived trouble when some of my gang members killed some policemen in the course of our operations, because I knew that police would come after us to avenge the death of their colleagues, yet I could not dump the group.

I even went to church to confess my sins and I vowed not to go back to robbery but other gang members came up with reasons for us to continue and I also needed more money as a high chief. Despite my 20 years as an armed robber, I was not involved in bank operation until last year.

After the operation at Ikorodu, I came back and followed them to rob a bank at FESTAC because of my ‘long throat’. I returned to Ikorodu to participate in another operation because my 500 jerry cans caught fire.

We sometimes used military and police uniform to beat security. I had one Toyota Highlander sport utility vehicle which I sold for N800,000 and then I bought three saw machines. Then, I relocated to Benin to be able to monitor my sawmill workers.

I vowed to God as my New Year resolution to stop robbing people but unfortunately I was arrested.”