According to Punch, Five of the
gunmen who stormed the 04 Hotel in Ajah area of Lagos last Sunday have been
confirmed dead. The robbers were killed in the early hours of Sunday
(yesterday) in a shoot-out with the Special Anti Robbery Squad Ikeja, Lagos. Several
gunmen had stormed the hotel in a purported reprisal for the arrest of a
colleague by SARS operatives at the same hotel. Seven persons including the
owner of the hotel, Olarenwaju Subair, were killed in the attack.
Police sources who craved anonymity,
told PUNCH Metro that the robbers who were moving in a convoy of an Honda
Odyssey and a Jeep on Sunday (yesterday) for another operation, had earlier
attacked some policemen at Ajah and later at Ajao Estate before the shoot-out
with SARS operatives.
A police source said, “The robbers
began their operation around 1am at Ajah but just as they were moving out, they
encountered a team of policemen on routine patrol. They opened fire on them and
in the ensuing exchange of fire, one policeman was killed in the process and
another wounded.
“Immediately, the robbers aborted
their mission and drove drown to Ajao Estate. They got to Ajao Estate at about
2am and attacked a major dealer in phones, ipads and other ICT products.
“In the process, a police corporal,
attached to the Mobile Police Force was killed. Valuables worth millions of
naira were carted away.”
Having received a directive from the
Lagos Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, to apprehend the robbers, SARS
operatives led by their leader, SP Abba Kyari, were said to have laid ambush
along the Mushin/Ojuelegba areas while two more teams went towards the island
to block the robbers escape.
Not long after, the robbers who
eventually drove through the Mushin/Ojuelegba road, were said to have opened
fire on sighting the SARS teams.
In an intense gunfight that
reportedly lasted 30 minutes, the robbers were chased from Stadium in Surulere
to Eko Bridge.
The source said, “Some of the robbers
had been wounded in the car from the gunfight but that didn’t stop them from
driving. It wasn’t until the driver of one of their vehicles sustained a
gunshot injury to the neck that the vehicles stopped at Eko Bridge.
“Some were already dead in the car.
Several more fled their vehicles and jumped over the Eko Bridge into the ocean
below. But some of those who jumped must have been wounded, because there was
blood on the rails of the bridge.”
It was learnt that items from Ajao
estate were recovered from the vehicles of the robbers. Policemen from the Area
A command and the Marine Police later combed the waters, but did not find any
corpse.
Manko confirmed the incident to PUNCH Metro.
He said, “Five robbers were
killed in the exchange of gunfire with SARS operatives. They had earlier
attacked a major phone dealer at Ajao Estate before they were ambushed by SARS
operatives along the Mushin/Ojuelegba areas.”
Source: Punch
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