Some argue that, given the right circumstances, honest men will turn crooks. For Lawrence Anini, it wasn’t a matter of waiting for such circumstances. He created them for himself, going on robbery sprees, raping women, shedding innocent blood, and terrorizing entire towns.
If there are levels to being a tyrant, this young man was surely in a class of his own, overshadowing one treacherous act by an equally sinister one. It was like he tried to beat the scoreboard or hit a new record playing against himself.
Lawrence Anini is the legend of bloody, murderous crime in Nigeria. His speciality was armed robbery, and we dare say he engaged in it frequently. But like many other stories about real cold-blooded criminals, the beginning does not give any clues about the end.
Anini’s Unlikely Beginnings
Anini of unblessed memory was born in 1960 in a village believed to be a stone’s throw from what is, today, Edo State. The exact name of the village is Orogho and it is located in Orhionmwon local government area.
His mother, Madam Akuguehia Oghadomwangbe had three children of which he was the second child and only son.
You could tell Anini was a vibrant and promising young man, full of drive and that never-back-downness that pulsates through every Nigerian’s veins. The clue is that he learned to drive at an early age. He later moved from his birth town to pursue his dreams, and get things going for himself.
He became a taxi driver - one who was particularly skilled and prominent. But it did not stop there. His search for a livelihood led him to work at a motor park.
It was here that his bold, forceful nature slowly became evident. Of course, anyone would agree that this was just the right mix for the kind of environment he found himself. You’d often have to be a man of timber and iron and fire and igneous rock to work in these parks.
And that could have easily been it! That could have been the end of the story; remembering Anini as the man that rocked at the motor park where he worked. But this sad story is far from a close.
Zeal Without Breaks, Drive Without Character
Anini had a way with people - a natural command or authority even. This turned him into some sort of mediator; a one-man enforcer capable of settling the brutal rifts that ensued between park drivers and the miscreants that hung around and serviced such spots.
His nature earned him the name “The Law” among co-workers and residents of Bendel City.
With that, you would think he would take on a side job settling scores and bringing law and order to the parks.
No. He didn’t. He, instead, went on to become acquainted with the very touts and hooligans who troubled his workplace, driving them to and from the robberies and raids they conducted. The rewards and high from this must have ignited something dark and evil within the once commendable taxi driver. As his zeal lost its breaks and his drive came unhinged from character, the young Anini resolved to a criminal career.
This time, he wasn’t stuck in the car as a driver. He crafted a small and efficient team, and he was in the front seat as the operation mastermind.
The Provocation
Recruiting members similar to himself, Anini had Monday Osunbor, Solomon Osemwenkhae, Johnbull Ahuwan, Moses Idahosa, Philip Iwebelua, Bernard Obi, and Friday Ukponwan join his team. They quickly began a life of theft and violence. They snatched cars, stole buses, and robbed people of immense amounts of valuables.
With time, the team grew strong and invincible - especially since DSP George Iyamu acted as an informant alerting the criminals to the plans and activities of the police. It didn’t take long before they found a new and more lucrative hobby robbing commercial banks.
Bendel City and its environs seemed incapable of containing this set of bandits. In fact, word went around that Anini reigned over Ondo, Anambra and Bendel, three out of the then 19 states in the country.
But while it looked like it, all hell was yet to break loose. It did later on in early 1986, with the public trial and prosecution of two members of Anini’s gang.
These criminals were caught and arrested - bound to face severe punishment for their crimes. However, it appears the rest of the gang used their ill-gotten resources to bargain an agreement with corrupt officials. So when their former members got prosecuted, the whole team felt betrayed, with an unsung bitterness towards the police force.
Anini’s Career in Crime
In August 1986, a barrage of operations began. You don’t need a soothsayer to tell why. Anini and his band of robbers were bent on repaying the actions of the government.
First, there was a fatal bank robbery which the police reportedly linked to the rouge gang. Also, Anini and his team shot dead two police officers for trying to stop their car at a checkpoint.
That same month, the team executed a heist at First Bank, Sabongida-Ora, where they left a surprise; stealing what was considered a meagre sum ($2,000 or NGN10,000 at the time) but creating a blood bath in the process.
In a span of three months, the team was believed to have committed over nine police murders.
It was an awful period to live in as a law enforcement official and a frightening one for people in general. The worst part? There was no end in sight.
Anini and his gang committed more treachery by snatching the official car of an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Christopher Omeben. During this incident, the driver, Albert Otoe, was murdered, with his body hidden by the perpetrators.
It is said that the driver’s body was recovered months later at the Benin-Agbor highway; 16 kilometres from where the crime occurred.
Several other series of carjackings, armed robberies, and police killings that pointed to Anini and his men took place.
Two policemen were killed in Oriohwon local government and a Peugeot 504 (similar to the Assistant IGP’s car) was stolen near the former FEDECO office. The crooks even had the audacity of spraying robbery money in the market, drawing large crowds of free pickers.
Letters from a Criminal
Anini certainly savoured the wealth of money and attention springing from his wrongdoings. And if it ever seemed to wane, he simply wrote a letter to a media house or his potential victim. A case in point was the message he sent to the manager of the New Nigeria Bank, Ring Road Branch, Benin City.
In this letter, he informed the bank of his coming. He further asked that a sum of NGN10,000 be set aside for him and according to one Charles Enonchong, “gave his address as Number 1,000,000 Anywhere Street Within the City, Benin, Bendel State.”
The bank, rather than report this to the police, fled to the Oba of Benin. Countless residents believed that members of the Police had a hand in the robberies. As a result, several people withheld whatever helpful information they had for fear of being attacked or killed.
Another of those letters was addressed to the Head of State himself in October 1986. It read, “Tell our President, we like him but we are not happy here in Bendel. The payment for everything is too much. That is why I now divide any money I get to the people.”
More of the letter was on the demands for peace to reign in Bendel.
“No more prosecution of innocent armed robbers; a stop to collusion between the police and the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers, and with members of the Ogboni cult; no more harassment of market women returning from their work; the ‘abolition of the collection of 50K-N5 [by the Highway Patrol] equal treatment for everybody; and fair treatment for all legitimate drivers by the police.”
Anini’s notes sometimes came with an air of ambiguity yet they also left a couple of hints as to who the sender was. It inspired a wave of headlines that seemed to praise him, question his elusiveness, or do a combination of both things.
The Dead End for Anini; a Taxi Driver Turned Murderer
A surprising detail about this story is that Anini performed his nefarious acts under a military government.
Whether it was out of carelessness or disregard, we can never say. But the length of his sadistic reign and the success of his operations are highly questionable given the type of political power present at the time.
Nevertheless, General Ibrahim Babangida - when he had gotten enough of the armed robbers - ordered a full-scale manhunt. The police, army, and airforce, must have all been involved. They combed Bendel State where Anini operated most of the time and came up empty. Stark empty.
Anini even had his name mentioned in the corridors of power during an Armed Forces Ruling Council meeting in October 1986. It is said that General Babangida, the Military President, had turned to the Inspector General of Police and quipped, ‘My friend, where is Anini?’
The long-awaited answer to that question came two months later in December 1986 when working off a tip, Kayode Omonaroro, the Superintendent of Police apprehended Anini with surprisingly little effort.
The location of arrest was No. 26, Oyemwosa Street, opposite Iguodala Primary School, Benin City, and Anini was reportedly having fun with several women.
The police officials marched down to his house, knocked on the door, and when Anini answered it, he reverberated the general’s question, “Where is Anini?”. The culprit suddenly realised what was happening and tried to trick the officers, saying “Oh, Anini is under the bed in the inner room.” After this, he attempted to bolt off but the crack team was prepared for that.
Despite shoving and head-butting, the lead officer quickly pulled his gun and blasted at Anini’s ankle. This brought the elusive criminal to a halt, with excruciating pain following. He was helped into a sitting position and asked, “Are you Anini?” That was when he replied, “My brother, I won’t deceive you; I won’t tell you lie, I’m Anini.”
This sealed the deal for the 26-year-old criminal. He was taken to the Police Headquarters before being moved to a military hospital where his leg was amputated.
Trial and Prosecution of Lawrence Anini
It is easy to support the trial and prosecution of Anini and his gang. But in many cases, the atrocities of criminals bring prosecution upon their friends and families too. Here’s an example.
In 1985, the police - likely in search of The Law - performed a raid on Anini’s village, arresting his mother, younger sister and several others. Speaking to This Week magazine in 1987, Madam Akuguehia explained the dread of the incident and how the entire family was subjected to torture.
As if the trauma from this was not enough, Anini’s family reportedly continues to suffer public stigmatisation.
The trial was handled by Justice James Omo-Agege, the Chairman of the First Benin Robbery and Firearms Tribunal. His judgement was scripted in a 33-page document which took 80 minutes to deliver. There, he said, “Anini will always be remembered in the history of crime in this country, but it would be of unblessed memory.”
Justice James Omo-Agege pronounced the death sentence on all defendants in the Anini case. Anini and his second-in-command, Monday Osunbor were set to be executed on March 29, 1987, whereas DSP Iyamu and other members of the gang were executed earlier. Every one of them faced a firing squad.
The public execution of Lawrence Anini took place at the Bar Beach where the criminal reportedly asked the Lord for forgiveness and accepted responsibility for all the atrocities he had committed. While the criminal had imagined his death to be in a market with some spectators, the actual event drew “thousands of people from all walks in Bendel State.”
