How we killed QRS operatives - Robbery kingpin

The sight of Kasali Adegoke will evoke sympathy from anyone. This because he has deformed left hand while the left side of his body right from his head bears burns scar. He also wears an innocent look of someone who can not hurt a fly. But behind this mien is a deadly personality with blood-stained hands. OLUWATOYIN MALIK writes about the confessions of the suspect regarding his operations in the world of crime.
KASALI Adegoke, popularly called Goke by his group, was the head of an armed robbery gang which had been terrorising communities and towns in the South West. His group took delight in killing policemen while their operations lasted before they were arrested. Not only this, Goke was very good at car-snatching that it became a kind of a hobby to him. Even with his deformed hands, he was very good at handling weapons and always operated with his AK 47 rifle.

As a notorious armed robber with his base in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the State Police Command had been on the lookout for him, and the Officer in Charge of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mohammed Tijani, a Superintendent of Police, was put to task by the Commissioner of Police, CP Okoye Ikemefuna, to put a stop to Goke’s activities.

Sunday Tribune gathered that based on information received by the SARS that the robbery kingpin had escaped to Benin Republic, the operatives, led by SP Tijani, went to lay an ambush for him. Their efforts were said to have paid off when Goke approached the operatives who disguised as immigration officers.

Immediately, he approached their ‘checkpoint’ on an okada, the policemen grabbed him, but knowing that he would be in trouble if he should be caught, the suspect reportedly drew out a German pistol he went to buy in Cotonou and tried to shoot his way out of the ambush. The SARS operatives however halted him with a volley of shots on his legs. He crumbled under the penetrating bullets.

When searched, the German pistol and 50 rounds of live ammunition were recovered from him. He was taken to hospital for treatment. Since then, he had been singing like a canary in the custody of the operatives. He took the police to his hideout at Iju Ishaga while his confessions also led to the arrest of other gang members such as Kamorudeen Mumuni a.k.a. Baba Owo and Lawal Waliu a.k.a. Ijoba Devil.

He also lived an invincible life, or so he thought, until he was arrested recently at Obele village between Nigeria and Benin Republic. Goke, who was paraded recently at the Eleweran headquarters of the state command, opened up to Sunday Tribune on his exploits in the crime world. Below are his statements;
Beginning of crime journey
I started smoking Indian hemp in 2005. I met a friend, Santos Shonowo, who used to steal vehicles from parks with master key. I started working with him but each time I went with them, our operation would not succeed.

“I later met one Seyi at Sapon. He is from Owode in Ogun State. One day, he said the Tokunbo car he was bringing in broke down and the tyres were shot by the police, asking me to take money to them to release the car. He did not open up to me that he snatched the car at gunpoint. I went to Adigbe police station and was directed to Oke-Ilewo police station. It was there I knew what was happening as I was arrested.

I was transferred to Sango police station because that was where the car was snatched from the owner. My people rallied round me and I later got my freedom. After my return, I pleaded that Seyi should show me the way he was working because I had already haboured such criminal thoughts. That was how I started snatching car with him in 2008.

He was arrested within the month I joined him so I stayed alone. I knew one Gbenga ‘Upho’ and Wale Poly who used to come to Seyi. Wale Poly brought a robbery job to Seyi at Mowe. I did not follow them because they left before me. They went to the house and got money. ‘Upho’ had one friend, ‘Let’s go’, and they both brought one local double barrel gun to me.

We started going out on robbery operations. We stole one motorcycle and started using it for ‘patrol’. ‘Upho’ met one Kazeem a.k.a. ‘Omo Iya Eso’ and Gani a.k.a. Palaro. ‘Upho’ called me one day and we went for robbery. Within that month also, he was arrested and sent to prison. He called me from the prison and asked me to meet Kazeem and others so that we could continue operation.

After ‘Upho’ was arrested, I went to my brother in Ajah and stayed there for about eight months before returning to settle at Owode-Idi Iroko. I met Nasiru a.k.a. Portugal who linked me with Kazeem and Faith, a lady. We started snatching cars since 2010. We operated within Abeokuta, Owode, Mowe, Toll Gate and other areas but I have lost count of the vehicles we have snatched.

Something happened between me and Faith and we had to share our guns. I got one AK 47 rifle and two locally-made double barrel guns. I bought the AK 47 from Cotonou, Republic of Benin for N400,000. Kazeem and I were using the guns that were my own share but we had no driver since Faith left to be on her own. Kazeem had been in robbery for a long time. Kazeem called me one day and introduced one Ejike whom he said was a good driver, and one Tosin. We started operation in earnest and were snatching cars.
How I met ‘Godogodo’
When Ejike came the third time, he brought one Seun Dada and Baba Owo. Baba Owo just came back from ‘trouble’ (prison) but ran from his residence when policemen were after him for re-arrest. The very day Baba Owo and Seun came, we operated in two petrol stations in Mowe. One day, I was called that ‘Godogodo’’s gang wanted to go and get a huge amount of money and was asked to join the gang.
Whenever my gang members and I went for any operation, we used to gather our loot and share but I was surprised that in ‘Godogodo’s gang, members were taking things for themselves. When we finished the operation, none of them put anything down so it was what I, Ejike, Kazeem and Seun got that I shared among my gang members. I got N700,000 as my own share.
How we killed QRS operatives
We continued working until SARS operatives came to burst our gang in Ifo, Ogun State. One Seyi Aluko gave us a tip-off about a cold room at Oke-Ijeun area of Abeokuta. Seyi was living in the area and he was on the lookout for us.

On October 21, 2012, we went for the job but missed it because the owner took the money away in a bucket shortly before our arrival. We left for Mowe to operate but on our way, we saw two policemen. They were backing us so we shot them and took their two AK 47 rifles. We could not carry out our operation again so we went back to Abeokuta.

Seyi took us to Ago-Oko area to rob a church and we hid somewhere in the early of the day. He had earlier said he had once gone to the church with one Segun a.k.a. Simple and they were able to get much money. When we got there, I warned our gang members not to make noise but while they were talking, the security men around the area heard us and came towards us. My gang members fired shots and we moved to the church which Seyi said we should invade.

I led Kazeem and some others inside the church with my AK 47 rifle while Seun Dada, Ejike, Seyi and Tosin laid ambush outside. It was then the Quick Response Squad drove into the area, probably in answer to a distress call. My members outside started shooting and by the time I got outside, I joined them. We killed the policemen and took away their three AK 47 rifles, making five police rifles that we got in a day.
(Goke’s story continues next week Sunday on his gang’s victims including members of a church and a VIO official).




I put the rifles in care of Ejike and Seun. I was called one day again that we should go and work with Godogodo but I was thinking on how to get my rifles from their custody. I used to keep my guns with a herbalist at Iyana Cele, Abeokuta. At first, the herbalist rejected being my armourer but I leaded with him. Eventually, he agreed and I used to give him between N50,000 and N100,000, depending on how much we make from operations.
I did not do any bullet proof charm because I never got involved with the police. They never arrested me as they would not see me and believe that I could be part of any robbery gang. I only did charms that would make me obtain mercy from people and the one that would bring money my way through our operations.
When I went to Ejike’s group with two of my own members, they picked a quarrel with me about my suggestion that I should keep the rifle magazines. That was how we shared the guns. I retrieved my AK 47 that I bought initially and got two AK 47 rifles from the five we got from the police, and one pump action gun. I also got six loaded magazines.
That very week, Seun’s group was arrested. Also SARS operatives bursted my group in Ifo same week after we killed members of Baptist Church, Sango-Ota on November 24, 2012. That day, Ope and Seyi Aluko brought a job that there was a man who had a lot of money at home.
Seyi was formerly with Wale ‘Officer’, Seun Dada and Seyi Chicago Koledowo but started moving close to my gang when his own team broke up. He used to give us information on where to go so that he could get his share too but all the jobs he brought were always unsuccessful.
On the day of the operation, one of the vehicles we snatched to operate with had a leaking silencer and the noise was much. I decided that we should snatch another to replace it, so we entered Ota town to get another car. I sighted a Honda Accord beside a Baptist church. As I tried to make a u-turn, the driver of the Honda car moved to enter the church.
As I got to him, he entered the church but the other gang members in our second operational car moved from behind me, entered the church and started shooting, saying that they sighted policemen there. I didn’t know how many people were hit but I later learnt that five church members died while three others were serious injured. We took the Honda car away and left the one with leaking silencer.
We headed for the place we were to go for operation in Owode town but I was already troubled by what happened in the church. We got to the house but I asked my gang to turn and we went back to Ifo. We thought of how to get money so we decided to go to Mowe to see if we could get car to snatch and rob petrol stations.
The following day, November 25, SARS operatives came to Ifo to arrest us. The Honda car was still with us as we were planning to use it for robbery. I was able to escape that day because SARS operatives never thought I could be an armed robber, though I walked past them. Others were arrested.
The least number of policemen my gang has killed is seven while I could not count the number of vehicles I have snatched. I also got one AK 47 rifle from Godogodo in addition to the ones I had. Godogodo was someone into whose face I could not look. That was why I could not say anything when individual members of his gang were keeping loot to themselves, contrary to what we used to do in my team.
However, Kazeem had known him for long so he was the one who spoke to him before he gave me that gun out of the three AK 47 rifles he snatched from the police during the operation I went with him. We killed two policemen that day.
I knew about the bank robbery carried out by Godogodo and other armed robbery gangs in Share, Kwara State on September, 2012. I knew Alayinke and AK Pajero. Alayinke came to me after SARS operatives got his members and recovered the guns he was working with.
This was three days after I followed Godogodo to the operation we carried out at bureau de change. Alayinke told me that they needed two of my AK 47 rifles. I asked how they would get ‘food’ (ammunition) for them and he told me not to worry about that, saying that some Igbo guys joining them for the operation had them in surplus and would bring them in.
After the successful operation, Alayinke called me when they came back and gave me N500,000 and one Mazda 626 car which they snatched during the operation. He also returned my vehicles to me.
(Goke’s story continues next week Sunday on his gang’s victims, vehicle receiver and operational methods)