Obinna Okolie, who was dubbed the most
notorious receiver of stolen goods and a key
financier and recruiter of hijackers,
terrorizing major highways in Lagos and
other parts of the country.Saturday Vanguard
learnt during the week that, Obinna who is
based in Onitsha, Anambra State, met his
waterloo recently when operatives of the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in Lagos,
led by Sp Abba Kyari, tracked and
apprehended him in his sanctuary in Onitsha.
Sources at the Lagos State Police Command
Headquarters, Ikeja, disclosed that, the search
for Obinna, who was described as highly
elusive and discreet, began 10 years ago, when
operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery
Squad,FED-SARS, in Lagos and Abuja,
including their counterparts at the state
command levels, learnt of his notoriety,
following rampant cases of hijacking and
diversions, which were traceable to him
although he remained elusive.Saturday
Vanguard gathered that Obinna, received over
80 percent of all hijacked or diverted goods in
Lagos and other adjoining states, between
2003 and 2014. He was also said to have
sponsored and maintained over 50 different
gangs of armed robbers, which included
military personnel, who he had used in
perpetuating his criminal activities.
In the past, Saturday Vanguard had
interviewed several armed robbery suspects,
who had links to Obinna, after their arrest by
operatives of the Fed-SARS, Adeniji Adele,
Lagos and SARS Ikeja.
They reveled how Obinna coordinated his
operations and created an empire of crime in
many areas. . In 2010, at FED-SARS,
Saturday Vanguard interviewed 38-year-old
suspect identified as Emeka Ikenga, who
hijacked a truck carrying, a 40 feet container
with goods worth, N11 million from its driver
on the Benin-Ore Road and the goods were
subsequently diverted to Onitsha, Anambra
State. The driver of the truck and his conductor
were abducted, sedated and they slept off, but
were later dumped in the Mile 2 area of
Lagos..
The Imo State-born suspect, who was arrested
at his residence in Apapa said was said to be
highly fetish and and always escaped police
arrest with ease. One accomplice , Ikenga,
under arrest said "if the police want to get
him, I can drag him out. I wish there is anyone
who could surety my release, so I can go after
him, but the police would not listen. That man
is bad and he has to be taken".
Ikenga, also narrated how they hijacked the
truck disguising as military personnel.
According to him, "we are based in Lagos and
he is at Onitsha. Whenever we get there for
operation, he would instruct us on how to go
about it. On the operation that brought me
here, one of the conductors, Kalu, contacted
my Chairman, Obinna, and they made the
arrangement.
The conductor supplied the name of the driver
of the truck and the number-plate. And, when
they started out for the journey, Kalu called
my chairman, we got alerted and we went after
them.
"We intercepted them with our operational
Hilux Jeep at Ijebu-Ode and when the driver
inquired what was happening, we showed him
a warrant bearing his name and the number-
plate of the truck, claiming that it was an order
from the Chief of Army Staff that all trucks
passing en-route should be searched for arms
and ammunition and that such vehicles should
be towed to the nearest Police station. "He
insisted on driving his vehicle but we refused
and pushed him and his conductor into the
back seat of our Jeep.
"I went back into his truck. The other members
of our gang together with the driver and his
conductor, headed back to Lagos.
They injected them on the way though I was
not there. After a little while, Obinna called us
and instructed that we transfer the goods into
another vehicle to prevent being trailed. We
heeded his instruction and Kalu followed one
of the vehicles down to Onitsha and I came
back to Lagos, expecting my share of the loot
which I did not get until my arrest.
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