Big Dreams of Lagos Super Cop Lynched by Angry Mob

Dipo Kehinde/

Six months from now, the arrowhead of the battle against hoodlums in Lagos State, CSP Kazeem Sumonu Abonde, would have retired to his Ona-Ara hometown in Oyo State where he was hoping to join a political party and contest an election.

Already, he had registered a law firm, K.S. Abonde & Co, and was also looking forward to being the legal adviser to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his hometown.

Built like a buffalo with a strong body constitution, Abonde was a restless fighter in the war against hoodlums in Lagos. As the leader of the Strike Force at Lagos State Command Headquarters, Ikeja, he had been sent several times to stamp out the fire whenever hoodlums were on the rampage in the state.

On July 22, 2021, NewsmakersNG met him on the field of battle, when he led a reinforcement team from the Lagos State police command to stop hoodlums who attempted to lynch the Chairman, Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Omiyale Kayode, as he was returning from a campaign rally at Abule Oja area with some APC party stalwarts.

Life for Abonde was one day one trouble, he once told NewsmakersNG. Fellow officers described him as a restless and very reliable crime fighter.

As if he had a premonition, Abonde recently requested that he wanted to spend his remaining days in the Nigeria Police Force peacefully as a Divisional Police Officer, but the request was rejected by the authorities that felt there was no better beat for such a rugged officer than the daily battles with hoodlums.

Like Harold Robbins would say ‘Dreams Die First.’

On September 23, he was bludgeoned to death, by hoodlums wielding dangerous weapons, while enforcing the ban on the use of motorcycles, otherwise known as Okada.

He led the tactical team of the Lagos State Police Command with men drawn from RRS, Taskforce, Ajao Estate Division, and other divisions. They were carrying out a raid of identified flashpoints and enforcing the ban on motorcycles in restricted areas in the estate and similar places in the state.

The Lagos State law bans motorcycles from operating on 475 roads.

But on some of the affected roads, there is no compliance with the traffic law, known as Transport Sector Reform Law (TSRL) 2018.

According to the state police spokesman, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, the September 23 exercise was a routine proactive approach aimed at curtailing activities of armed robbers and other criminal elements in the State. Similar exercises were carried out in the past in other parts of the state which have resulted in a reduction in crimes in the areas.

Ajisebutu stated: “After the successful operations which led to the arrest of some of the suspects, other criminal elements, and hoodlums in their large number laid siege to the exit of the Estate and attacked the policemen with guns, cutlasses, and other dangerous weapons.

“Unfortunately, during the fatal attack, CSP Kazeem Sumonu Abonde attached to the Operations Department of the Command was brutally killed by the hoodlums. The DPO Ajao Estate, CSP Abdullahi Malla, and other Police officers equally sustained varying degrees of injuries. The corpse of the deceased officer has been deposited at the Yaba Mainland Hospital for autopsy.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu while condemning the attack on the policemen who were carrying out legitimate duty at the time, has directed that a discreet investigation into the incident should be carried out immediately. The CP has equally vowed to ensure that all suspects responsible for the dastardly act would be brought to book soon.

“The Commissioner of Police has promised that this mournful incident would not dampen the morale of the Command or discourage it from carrying out its statutory duties of protecting lives and property of the Citizens in Lagos State.”

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