The Rise & Fall Of Derico Nwamama, Nig’s King of The Underworld (MUST READ)
By “I trust Bakassi Boys. They are strong. Please, mercy for me. Nobody can identify me as having robbed him. People just believe that I am a strong guy.”
The whole scenario almost descended into a pandemon
ium when from nowhere a truck full of Nigerian police officers tried to penetrate the crowd. However, the charged mob booed the police officers and rained stones on them. Fearing total anarchy and even the possibility of their being lynched alongside Derico, the police officers fired some shots in the air to disperse the crowd and in minutes, they left the scene for the Bakassi Boys, the newly-minted heroes.
Still writhing in pain like a wounded Indian cobra, Derico let out some secrets. He said that while he was on the run, he was sheltered by a member of the National Assembly in Abuja. Derico did not stop there, he also confessed that he also had two other powerful protectors, one was a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly while the other was the chairman of a local government council. The stupefied crowd let out a stream of unbelievable shouts.
Following Derico’s ‘speech’ in anguish, the drama heightened and the crowd eagerly awaited what was to follow. What was to follow remains one of the most macabre displays of public executions in Nigeria. With the speed of a guillotine, a cutlass handled in the strong arm of one of the Bakassi Boys flew and came down with an unforgiving thud, landing on Derico’s slim neck. In a flash, Derico was beheaded.
His severed head rolled on the floor before the crowd while his convulsing body collapsed on the ground, with bright-red blood gushing from his carotid arteries. It was like a sacrifice to the gods had just taken place. Whether Amadioha was pleased or not, no one knew. An orgasmic shout rented the air as Derico was beheaded, the crowd reached a climax and the chanting of the war and victory songs continued. The crowd was satisfied and as far as the Bakassi Boys were concerned, that was a clear lesson and message to any criminal bent on making life miserable for the Anambrarians.
With the lifeless remains of Derico still lying on the floor, the people erupted in jubilation, patting one another on the backs and exchanging mutual congratulations after a monstrously grotesque show of iron and blood. That was not the end. Razor-sharp machetes flew from different directions and chopped his pitiful remains into sizable chunks. Derico’s mangled remains were heaped up, properly rinsed with fuel and set on fire. His pieces and innards twisted and succumbed to the hungry flames.
Many of the marketers interviewed were very happy with the Bakassi Boys and one of them even said that ‘ taking Bakassi out of Anambra is signing our death warrant. ’ Some others described the capture and decapitation of Derico as an ‘act of God’ and a ‘miracle’. Others declared their vociferous support for the Bakassi Boys and emphasized that they would oppose anyone who wanted to ‘delete’ the Bakassi Boys from the state. Everyone seemed to enjoy the unspeakable savagery that had just taken place in a Nigeria that was just entering the 21st century. Few days before this bloody drama in July 2001, in faraway Alabama, USA, the world’s first artificial self-contained artificial heart had been transplanted into Robert Tools and in the next month Microsoft launched Windows XP. This is 2014, and we are still mobbing people, rinsing them with petrol and setting them on fire. It seems gasoline is not expensive when it is the time to burn a Nigerian.
When the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Daniel Anyogo, was interviewed by Kenneth Oboko of Newswatch in August 2001 following the death of Derico and his relationship with the Anambra Vigilante Service (AVS), he said:
Look at the killing of Edward Okeke and now Derico even after I gave advance warning. I advised them that he, (Derico), should be handed over to me first. They did not. Sometime I wonder why some of these sycophants do things the way they do, I don’t think they are people of God at all.
I don’t know whether you understand what I mean by that. Because if you are a man of God you cannot do what some of these people have done, unknown to the authorities, unknown to the government. Some of these people seem to be enjoying this barbaric way of doing things. And I tell you there are very few of them and I keep saying it in the security council meeting. That unless these people are identified and removed, they will continue to embarrass the state.
The police command was enraged and declared that the Bakassi Boys also produce the charred remains of Derico and others that they had killed extrajudicially. The Police Public Relations Officer, Haz Iwendi said:
“The action of the Bakassi Boys should be condemned in totality. Whatever form of extra judicial killing should be condemned by law-abiding people. Today, it is Derico, tomorrow it could be any other person. The leader of the Bakassi group is still on our wanted list and we are determined to get him.”
However, the huge uproar and anger from an overwhelming fraction of the population meant that those in authority had to find some other wiser ways of solving the issue, one of which was releasing the Bakassi Boys who had been arrested and placed in custody. At the end, Governor Mbadinuju came out and said regarding the whole debacle:
“I can tell you on good authority that it (the Derico affair) is over. The police have unraveled every detail of the Derico affair and the police are satisfied. There is no problem. They are no longer looking for anybody. As far as we are concerned, Derico has gone the way of his fore-fathers. And as far as we are concerned, the police are still in control.”
INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT DERICO NWAMAMA
– A movie was made about Derico Nwamama with Emeka Ike acting as Derico. Others in the movie were…