• Shocking story of armed robbery kingpin from Itsekiri-Ijaw war to militancy and now robbery
•His links with Tompolo, Ateke Tom, Togo and Ossy

By Ifeanyi Okolie 

Following his arrest last week , by operatives of   the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, who trailed him to a hideout in Benin City, Edo State for allegedly coordinating, the Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac and Agbara Bank Robberies, in Lagos and Ogun State,Clement Abanara, also known as Millions, has told the police not to blame him for all his atrocities.

•Clement Abanara,
alias Millions

The 42-year-old, who is a High Chief in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, a title he said he   received from his community for   being a philanthropist, also told the police that he turned a new leaf, after his last robbery operation at Agbara area of Ogun State, where he and his gang carted away over N110millon from the bank and also left   several persons, including a pregnant woman dead .

He told the police during interrogations that on new year eve,   he attended three churches, sowed seeds of N5000 each   and   begged God for forgiveness, promising not to engage in armed robbery again.  But the police would not buy his story, as they’ve accused him of   being  responsible for the gang, who were largely pipeline vandals, siphoning petroleum products from vandalized   pipelines belonging to the   NNPC, at   Ikorodu, Ijegemo and some other parts of Lagos. They were also responsible for    kidnappings in some states.

A former  Commissioner of Police in Lagos State,   Umar Manko, in   December, 2012, had declared Millions wanted   after he had led a four man gang of kidnappers to   abduct a former Majority leader in the   Lagos State House of Assembly, Tofeeq Adeniji, in Lagos, and took him through the rivers to Delta State, where he demanded N30million as ransom.

It was reported that N4m was allegedly agreed as ransom and one of the lawmaker’s sons who was said to have taken the money to kidnappers was also abducted and was released along with his father after additional money was paid for their release. It was reported   then that Millions and his gang would storm Lagos through the waterways from Delta State, abduct their victims, move   them back into creeks of Delta State, where they would demand ransom and also make relatives of the victims pay the ransoms in Delta State.

Three members of his gang were arrested and they led SARS Ikeja  to his house in Effunru Delta State, where they met an empty apartment.   Saturday Vanguard gathered that the IRT, led by CSP Abba Kyari, while searching   for the Lagos bank robbers intercepted several intelligence linking Millions to the gang. He was even described as one of the gang’s major leaders giving his over 20 years experience as an armed robber. The operatives were said to have trailed his wife to Warri, where she was arrested and she led the police to her husband who was hiding in an apartment in Benin.

When Saturday Vanguard had an encounter with the suspect, a native of Ijaw in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, he said that he was remorseful   for his crimes and wished he could right all his wrongs. He told this paper that he had a rough upbringing that was wrapped in poverty and violence. He said at a young age, he took part in the Ijaw-Ishekiri Crisis which started in 1996 and he also went on to prosecute the Niger Delta Militancy against the Federal Government of Nigeria. In his interview, Millions believed God may have   forgiven him and all he needs at the moment   is to be forgiven by Nigerians and those he may have killed or injured during his operations.

Excerpts:

“  I am Clement Abanara,   an Ijaw   and a   native of Warri   North Local Government Area of Delta State. I am 42 years old. I’m   married with six children and I am the last child of seven.

Early Days as a child.

My father died when I was just three months old   and I was forced to drop out of primary school as my poor   mother who was fisherwoman could   not afford to pay for my education. I joined my elder brothers who were wood loggers in the bush when I was 12   and I worked with them for more than 10 years, then I left and went to palm-wine tapping but two years into that, 1996 to be precise, the Ijaw and Ishekiri, crisis   broke out over creation of Local Government.   Then I returned to my village in Ogbemibiri and joined my brothers in fighting against the   Ishekiri people.

How he prosecuted the Niger Delta Militancy 

When that crisis end   and militancy started   against the federal government to demand for developments in our community, as there were no road, schools hospitals. We lacked government presence completely.      The call for militancy was a noble one to us,   as we had just ended the crisis with the Ishekiri’s   and there was nothing left   for us young men in the village to do   at that time. Even the oil companies in our communities could not employ us as   we were not educated   and lacked basic skills to work for an oil companies.

Time with Ateke Tom

I entered the struggle and I joined General Ateke Tom, in Rivers State.   I didn’t join General Tompolo’s   camp who is from my place, at that time   because I didn’t like the way he treated    my brothers after the Ijaw-Ishekiri crisis. I was being paid N30,000 every two weeks and I normally went for a one week leave. I worked   as his guard   at his camp in Isake Creek , in Rivers State   for two years and I left his group when some of his boys wanted to Initiate me into their secret cult.

How four abducted expatriates  were released 

I moved to Bayelsa State and joined General Young Shall Grow, at his   camp at   Azuzama creek.   Young Shall Grow was paying me   the sum of N40,000 every two weeks. There was a time we abducted four expatriates working in a oil company in Bayelsa State.   He told us then that the abduction was to get the attention of the then State Governor, because   there   was also a General   operating in the Bayelsa creek. Then the Bayelsa Government was paying some   Militant Generals in the State. The expatriates were with us for over three weeks and when the governor called him for negotiations, he   told the governor that all he wanted was for his name to be included on   the list of generals   receiving money from the State Governement .   I   learned then that the governor agreed to include his name and he also gave him N5million   to share with his boys for drinks and he released the expatriates.

His First Robbery with late John Togo

I   spent close to two years at Young-Shall-Grow’s camp and there was a time we heard that General Tompolo was having issues with John Togo for engaging in sea piracy   where they robbed vessels on the sea.   Tompolo asked him to stop because that was not what   the struggle was all about and he refused to listen to him and he continued. So, Tompolo   chased Togo out of Delta State and he ran to Alajasare,   an Ijaw community in Rivers State and when General Tompolo heard he was there he sent words to them and said they should arrest Togo and bring him to him in Delta State.   The people at Aljasare arrested Togo and brought him to Gbamaratu and handed him over to Tompolo who then handed Togo to JTF men in Warri.

They took Togo away and detained, but after a while, General Boylof    came and bailed him and took him to his camp.   After some months one of   Togo’s boys,   who   is dead now, informed me about his plans to rob some banks in Port Harcout. I joined them and we attacked an Oceanic   Bank with over 15 Ak 47 rifles, and we made over N60 million from the bank and I got the sum of N800,000 as my share of the loot. This was because we were many that went for that operation and I cant recall the exact number currently. Sincerely that was my first and only time I    went to robbery with Togo.

His Camp 5 experience

Later on, some of my   brothers who were with Tompolo started asking me to come back home and work with Tompolo because we are all from same place and they tried to settle my rifts with him.   I went and joined him at Camp five and we settled and he made me a commander of a unit in his camp. Not long after I joined the camp we had a bloody clash with some soldiers as they invaded the   camp and destroyed the entire place. I managed to escape to Warri. When the matter died down I attempted to rejoin Tompolo and he rejected me for running away during an attack.

Local refining of AGO 

With the little money I had saved,   I went   into locally refining    AGO at Bennet Island,   at Warri South West Local Government Area.   I bought a an oven for N500,000 which I   used in   refining the crude oil and turn it into AGO.    15 drums of crude oil into the oven would produce 10 drums of refined oil and on each night I will refine   over 20 drums of AGO.   I normally sell a drum of a AGO for N10,000 and lots of people come from Lagos to buy this products from us. I made so much money from that business and I built two houses from it. while I was doing that, the Federal Government, granted amnesty   to militants and   I followed General Ezekiel to drop arms and accepted amnesty. I was paid the N65,000 stipend and was taken for two weeks rehabilitation. I went back to my business   but last March, my refinery got burnt and I lost over 500 drums of AGO to that fire and   I became completely broke.

How we started the Lagos bank robberies 

I decided to come to Lagos and join the boys vandalizing petroleum pipeline in Lagos State.   I went to Ikorodu and I   met one Ossy. He told me that he was the General in charge of the camp and he accepted me. what I saw in his camp when I went in was outrageous. In the camp, there were several high caliber rifles including GPMG and dynamites.       Uniforms belonging to all the security agencies including the army, navy, police, SSS and the NSCDC   were littered all over the camp. In fact, some of his boys were on these uniforms.      I also saw some   ex militants in his camp working   for him as well.   Later on he told me that he wanted me as the chief security officer. I asked him how he intended to achieve this and he said he was going to start robbing banks in Lagos State.   With what I saw in his camp, I knew he was capable of pulling that off.

He then told me that he needed my expertise and that of some ex militants in his   camp to achieve this aim, I accepted.   I wasn’t   at the   first operation in Lekki, but I took part in the   Ikorodu,   Festac and Agbara bank robberies.   At the first Ikorodu bank robbery,   we got over N12million from the bank and I got N800,000 from that operation.   In the second operation,   we broke into two banks and we got over N70million, we gave monies to those whose vehicles were burnt during the operation. I got N1.1million as my own share.   At the Festac operation,   we got over N40 million   and my own share was N2 million, while at the last operation in Agbara we got over   N110 million from the bank. My share was N2.6million.    But something happened to me after that operation. After our operation we moved through the creeks into Ijegemo that is being controlled by TK, a militant.   That was   where we shared the money.

How I decided to quit 

After that we dropped our rifles and I left the camp   on a canoe because the military men on the water ways searching for the bank robbers would arrest anyone on a   speed boats. I crossed into Festac Town, took a bike to Mile 2 and boarded a bus going to Warri Delta State. While in the bus, people started talking about the robbery at Agbara.   They narrated how policemen and a pregnant women were killed by the robbers. In fact, some were even raining curses on the robbers.   I felt so bad when I listen and   when I    got home, I vowed not go with Ossy to any bank robbery again because of the loss of innocent lives. I didn’t kill anyone in all the operations I participated in because I am experienced.

Those who kill are the inexperienced   people among us.    At    the new year eve, I went to three churches, sowed seeds of N5000 each and begged to God for forgiveness.   I vowed to him that I would not go back to that evil job any more. I also destroyed my sim cards so that I would cut off all communication with those boys. I sold one of my cars, took the money to Benin and bought chainsaw and rented an apartment. I was relaxing in my house when the police came and arrested me.   I have always known that I was going to  arrested  one     day.   I learn about Kelly Fotor’s arrest, but I think it was   his fault. It was absolutely wrong for him to have gone to a party and started throwing money few days after the robbery.

Kelly Fotor is also one of the Generals   who also   led his boys to   accepted  amnesty  from the   federal government   and he is also being paid   monthly and as at the time he was at party throwing money, the stipend had not being paid. I think that was how he gave himself out.   I regret getting myself into this because I  didn’t  make much money from it compared to the what I    made when I was refining  AGO.   But you must not blame me completely.   I am from a very poor family and I   have had   a very rough upbringing as a child. I wish I can right all my wrongs. But I know God has forgiven me.   What I need now is for Nigerians to forgive. “