10 Most Notorious Criminals In Nigeria’s History

Like every other country, Nigeria has had its share of criminal masterminds, individuals who terrorize innocent citizens of the country for personal, economic, and political gain. Here are over the 10 most notorious criminals in Nigeria’s history. But before getting into details of these notorious individuals, it is imperative to see the negative impact of their notoriety on Nigerian society as a whole, so we don’t idolize them when making reference to them in history.

Over the years different types of criminality have taken the main stage on the country’s polity: drug Trafficking in the 60s and 70s, Armed Robbery in the 80s and 90s, and Kidnapping and Terrorism in the 2000s and present times.  Due to the selfish and inconsiderate actions of these notorious individuals, Nigeria has become unsafe for its citizens and has gained a bad image in the international system.

According to reports, Nigeria is considered by integration observers to be a country with a high level of crime and was ranked 17th among the least peaceful countries in the world. The actions of these individuals have been detrimental to Nigerian people With that being said are the 10 most notorious criminals in Nigeria’s history.

1. Abubakar Shekau

Abubakar Shekau was a Nigerian terrorist who was the leader of Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamist militant group, responsible for the death of thousands of  Nigerians and the displacement of  2.3 million citizens from their homes.  He served as deputy leader to the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf until Yusuf was executed in 2009.

Nigerian authorities believed that Shekau was killed in 2009 during clashes between security forces and Boko Haram until July 2010, when Shekau appeared in a video claiming the group’s leadership. He was responsible for many of the atrocities perpetrated by the group most notably the abduction of the Chibok school girls in April 2014.

Abubakar Shekau is no doubt one of the most notorious criminals in Nigeria’s history responsible for terrorizing citizens in the northern part of the country. After numerous false reports of his death over the years, it was confirmed he killed himself by detonating a suicide vest in 2021.

2. Lawrence Anini

Lawrence Anini also known as “The Law” or “Ovigbo” is a Nigerian bandit and no doubt one of the most notorious criminals in the history of Nigeria.  He terrorized the Old Bendel State  (now  Edo and Delta states) in the 1980s along Monday Osunbor, so much that his robbery became a national concern in 1986.

Anini who is known as “The Law” or “Ovigbo” began his criminal career as a tout in Benin city Motor parks. He quickly rose through the ranks of gangs, thieves, and criminal godfathers as a driver and a transporter. Later he formed his gang and expanded to the north and east of Benin.

According to reports,  Kayode Uanreroro, the superintendent of Police at that time, put an end to Anini’s reign of terror,  arresting him on the 3rd of December 1986. Anini was convicted of most of his charges which includes the murder of nine policemen and was executed on March 29, 1987.

3. Oyenusi Ishola

Oyenusi Ishola is the first known armed robber and one of the most notorious criminals in Nigeria’s history. According to reports, Oyenusi began his monstrous atrocities in 1959, but his first major heist occurred when he stole a car along Herbert Macaulay road in Lagos, killing the owner in the process.

Shortly after the Civil War, in the words of Mike Fakule of The Nigerian Finder, Oyenusi had evolved into a cold-hearted armed robber, who delights in inflicting misery on his victims. He swept through the country in 1970, committing numerous heinous crimes, without remorse.

In March 1971, he was caught during a robbery in Ikeja Lagos and was executed in the same year at the popular Bar Beach in front of 30,000 Nigerians, who were relieved to see the end of a man who held the country, hostage. According to reports, Oyenusi was smiling throughout the process of his execution.

4.  Shina Rambo

Shina Rambo was a notorious armed robber who terrorized the southwestern part of the country in the 1990s. Not much about terrorists, apart from the fact that he was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and was a fetishist person who believed in rituals and human sacrifices.

Numerous reports have it that, he was a prolific terror and the brains behind many attacks in the South West where he was robbed and killed with impunity. According to a report, he was apprehended by the police in Lagos while on his way to buy a Pathfinder Suv.

The report stated that he wanted to shoot a policeman questioning him over a lot of money in his car trunk when another officer on the other side of the road shot him. Another account has it that the person killed was not the real Sina Rambo. A repentant criminal, Mathew Oluwanifemi, who claimed to be the real Rambo, is now a man of God.

5. Derico Nwamama

Okwudili Ndiwe predominantly known as Derico Nwamama is a notorious armed robber, who terrorized Anambra state from 2000 until he was apprehended by the Bakassi Boys in 2001. According to reports, Derico started off as a pickpocket and street urchin before transforming into an armed robber at the age of 22.

He allegedly killed over 100 people including 25 policemen during his crime span and was regarded as a ruthless armed robber who robbed buses, market women, and banks alongside his gang members. Derico’s gang members were apprehended by the police when he went on the run.

On 3 July 2001, the Bakassi Boys, a south-eastern vigilante group, invited by the authorities laid an ambush for Derico on his way to Onitsha. He was intercepted at Nkpor and paraded on 9 July 2001 by the Bakassi Boys at the Ochanja market before beheading him with a machete.

6. Mighty Joe

Isiaka Busari,  also known as Mighty Joe, was the second in command to Oyenusi and one the most notorious criminal in the history of Nigeria. Shortly after Oyenusi’s execution, Mighty Joe took over the gang, which was also made up of former Nigerian soldiers dismissed from service.

Mighty Joe and his gang were exceptional at handling guns and other deadly weapons and were probably the most lethal criminal organization, the Nigerian Police force ever encountered. They terrorized the South-West with impunity, stealing Killing, and kidnapping innocent citizen

Mighty Joe was eventually arrested after he was caught robbing a hotel bar attendant, Michael Osayunana, of the sum of ₦10. He was sentenced to death and was executed by a firing squad at Bar Beach, Just like his former boss Doctor Ishola Oyenusi.

7. Gana

Terwase Akwaza well known as Gana was a most wanted criminal and head of a militia group in Benue State. He terrorized Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Logo local government areas for more than a decade but his criminal activities peaked between 2015 and 2020. His gang invaded communities and kidnapped residents at will, collecting millions of naira in ransom.

Gana was also accused of massacres, assassinations, robberies, cattle rustling, terrorism, and murders. He levied farmers, traders, and prominent people. A bounty of N50 million was placed on his head after several failed attempts to track him down. He was eventually murdered by the Nigerian Army after he turned himself in for amnesty on September 8, 2020.

8. Godogodo

Abiodun Egunjobi popular known as  Godogodo was a notorious armed robber and ex-convict, Godogodo constituted a major security threat in Lagos and other southwestern states for many years. He was known as the one-eyed assassin who killed without mercy and did all sorts of atrocities.

He was arrested on the 1st of August 2013  by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command led by the now-suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, after several failed attempts to arrest him for over 14 years.

Gogodod was prominent for carrying his operations with a bag full of AK-47 guns, when he was arrested his house in Lagos, Ondo, and Ogun State was found to be filled with different kinds of rifles. He reportedly disguises his criminal activities, and even his wife and family member were not aware of his atrocities.

9. Evans

Chukwudidumeme Onuamadike, popularly known as Evans, is a kidnapper and one of the most notorious criminals in Nigeria’s history.  He is also referred to as  “the billionaire kidnapper,” because of the huge ransoms he collected from relatives of his victims and his opulent lifestyle.  Due to his notoriety, He evaded arrest for four years and was on the most wanted list in three states – Lagos, Edo, and Anambra states.

In some of the kidnapping operations he led, he collected up to N1m dollars in ransom. He was arrested in 2017 in a joint operation by the Lagos State Police Command and the Inspector-General of the Police Intelligence Response Team led by suspended DCP Kyari, who was the head of the unit at the time.

Evans was charged with murders, armed robberies, kidnappings, unlawful possession of firearms, unlawful possession of ammunition, and conspiracy, among others. He was found guilty of kidnapping and conspiracy and was thereafter sentenced to life imprisonment on February 25, 2022.

10. Gracious David West

Gracious David West is a convicted serial killer, who killed at least 15 women from July until September 2019, making him one of the most notorious criminals in Nigeria’s history.  Aside from his serial-killing activities, David-West was reportedly a member of the Greenlanders,  a mafia-styled street gang that sprung out of the armed militant groups that are notorious in Nigeria for engaging in criminal acts of violence and Voodoo.

David was arrested on 19 September 2019 and confessed to a total of 15 murders. In his confession, he claimed that he had “an irresistible urge to kill” and every night from June to his capture in September he scoured the streets in his vehicle looking for women to kill.

According to a report, He takes his victims to local hotels where they would eat, have sex, and then go to bed. He robs them of their money and valuables in the middle of the night using a knife before tying them up with strips of cloth from the pillowcase and strangling them to death.