How Lack of Parental Care Turned Godogodo to a Notorious Robber

Godogodo's house where he was arrested

Notorious robbery czar, Abiodun Ogunjobi, aka, Godogodo, has said that lack of parental care was responsible for his becoming a deadly robber.

Godogodo was discharged from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, yesterday where he was earlier rushed to because he was bleeding from injuries from bullets fired at him during his arrest.

He told Vanguard during an interview at the state Police Command headquarters, Ikeja, that he was the eldest child in the family and his parents abandoned him at an early age to fend for himself.

“My father was a wayward man. He was a drug addict and a gambler. My mother was a sickler and she died after giving birth to my youngest brother.

 “But my father, who got married to another woman, didn’t bother to take care of me. As a little child I struggled through primary school, picking bottles, iron and rubber from refuse dump.
 “The little money I made from it was what I used in paying my school fees in primary school and after I graduated I went into the business of robbery fully.
 “As a little boy I was sleeping on the street and my father didn’t care. All he cared about was to gamble away his money and take drugs.
 “Gradually I started stealing and when I got of age I started robbing people at Katangura market, Iyana-Ipaja, but in 1999, I was arrested and sent to prison for fighting and when I came back some of the boys who were operating with me then had become big time robbers. I joined them and in one of our operations, I was shot in the eyes by some vigilante men that accosted us in Ogun State and I ended up losing one of my eyes.
 “I would say after that incident I became tough and very careful. I don’t socialize, drink, smoke or go after women. I saw those things as weakness that could give out a tough man. 

 “I have three children from three women. I ran away from my other wives because the police wanted to use them to arrest me. 

“I also want to make it clear that I didn’t participate in all the robbery operations the police are accusing me of. People like me because I am not greedy; I make sure everybody gets their own share after a successful operation. 

“Some of these boys also go out on their own to rob and when arrested they will tell the police that they are my boys.
 “I can’t lie anymore, I have been arrested. All I want is for the police to give me a second chance. I will assist them arrest all the robbers in Lagos and South-West.”

The 36-year-old suspect was reported to have led several bank robberies in the South-Western States of Kwara, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Oyo for over 14 years, killing more than 50 policemen and many other civilians. His most recent activity was at Ajah, Lagos State, where he killed the owner of 04 Hotel and eight others, including two policemen few weeks ago.

After a massive manhunt three weeks close monitoring by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, he was nabbed around 11am at his house in the Egbeda area of Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday August 1st. Two AK47 rifles and 10 loaded AK47 magazines were recovered.

True, National morality & discipline starts from the family unit but what is it they say about ‘your life, your choice’ again? So much for ‘appeal to pity’!