Five years after Julius Obi and his gang were declared wanted, his criminal career grind to a halt. The 27-year-old, popularly known as Gadaffi, was arrested on December 2, 2018, alongside two members of his gang. In their heyday, they were daredevils who specialised in robbery, kidnap, rape and killing of their victims before dumping their bodies in the river. In this fashion, they had killed over 15 victims and dumped their corpses in the river in Opume Community, Ogbio Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.
Face-off over alleged rape of minor
Presently, the suspects are giving accounts of their heinous activities to operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Bayelsa State Police Command.
Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Mr Joseph Mukan who gave a rundown of the gang’s crime mentioned a 2017 kidnap of two females who were held hostage for seven days during which they were repeatedly raped. One of them was later released in Sagbama, Bayelsa State after a ransom was paid to the kidnappers.
According to Mukan, in November 2017, the gang was involved in the robbery and kidnap of five victims, whose whereabouts remained unknown till date. The victims were believed to have been raped, killed and their bodies disposed of the gang’s usual way.
Obi and his gang were subsequently declared wanted, but that did not deter them. They struck again in January 2018. After collecting ransom, their five female victims were never seen alive or dead.
In July, operatives of SARS in Yenegoa, capital of Bayelsa, were able to rescue a victim from the gang’s clutch after being held hostage for three days. By then, the gang’s cup was almost full.
The making of vipers
Julius Obi who hails from Abia State grew in his uncle’s household in Yenegoa but joined a bad company after his guardian’s death. The gang he joined was a band of robbers and rapists who kidnapped female victims in and around Yenegoa. For five year, they were able to cover their tracks because they murdered all their victims and dumped their bodies in the river.
Obi told Saturday Sun: “I am a cultist. We have been terrorizing the state since five years ago. We have robbed several innocent people, kidnapped many victims and collected millions of naira ransom from their families. We specifically kidnapped female victims, raped them and when they died, threw their bodies in the river. We used to be a gang of 10. When SARS operatives killed six of our members, we had to regroup and form another gang.
“But since the new Commissioner of Police came in, the state has been hot for us. SARS operatives raided our hideout and arrested some of our members. We formed another group and continued to operate until we were arrested on December 2.”
Obi summed up their atrocity thus: “We robbed and kidnapped people. We killed our victims and threw their bodies into the river in Yenegoa.”
His other gang members arrested were identified as Eyniimu Idris, 26, and Ishiaka Aminu, 27. Caught at their residence in Igbegene Community, a Berretta pistol and 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition were recovered from them. Their arrest, Saturday Sun learnt, triggered a wild jubilation in Amapa and Onopa communities.
Commissioner of Police Mukan affirmed that since the command arrested the notorious gang, “we have raided hideouts in Tembia, Market, Obele, Onopa, Amarala, and Oti Oti where they operate.”
He confirmed that the suspects will soon be docked in court.
The Sun
