THE END OF DERICO
Captured criminals were savagely beaten, mutilated, dismembered and even set on fire, all without trial. After heaping the remains of the suspects in the blazing flames, the Bakassi Boys then asked the onlookers and bystanders to raise their hands in what was a symbolic form of worship and surrender. The end of Derico would prove to be even more dramatic.
On the 9th of July 2001, six days after Derico was captured, Bakassi Boys chanting war songs drove in their clangorous buses to the ever-bustling Ochanja Market Junction (Roundabout) along Iweka Road in Onitsha, one of the commercial nerve centers of the state and right there in the middle of the market, their buses came to a screeching halt. Crazy shouts of excitement and unspeakable terror filled the atmosphere of one of West Africa’s most active markets.
Some of the Bakassi Boys did not even let their buses come to their typical maddening stop before they jumped out of the vehicles, some from the windows, the doors were barely closed as they sped recklessly towards the centre of Onitsha. Traders and shopowners at the market hurriedly closed their shops to have a full view of the drama that was about to unfold. Many had not even seen the infamous Derico before and did not know how he looked like, whether he was handsome like the Prince of the Air, or as old as Melchizedek. What many saw next was not what they expected.
Derico was dragged out, his face was thoroughly ‘panel-beaten’, a sure mark of the non-stop physical assault and the maximum shishi that he had received in the hands of the Bakassi Boys in the dungeon where they had locked him up. A 22-year-old lad, his body was ‘decorated’ with numerous cuts and gashes from cutlasses that went really deep into his brown, proteinous African flesh. It was the sight of savagery. Raw savagery. But the real savagery was to come.
Derico was in obvious pains but no one seemed to care. He was going to taste the same chilli pepper and ata rodo that he had rubbed in the eyes of the helpless Nigerians.
Still chanting war songs and edged on by the ecstatic mob, the Bakassi Boys were totally in control and in minutes, a huge crowd had formed around the arena, waiting for the most anticipated spectacle in July 2001 in Nigeria’s enterprising southeast.
At that moment, one of the ‘war commanders’ of the Bakassi Boys named Okpompi addressed the crowd, which was now swelling by the minute. With a voice that pierced through the electrified crowd, Okpompi said that the Bakassi Boys were not in the state for politics. He said they had no business with politics and they were strictly interested in fighting crime. He went to add that whoever was thinking they were involved in politics was a joker.
Although chaotic, the end of Derico still had some semblance of a ceremony, even if it was a most gory one indeed. Responding to approving roars from the bloodthirsty and vengeance-seeking crowd, the Bakassi Boys assured their people that insecurity would become a thing of the past in the state. At that point, the microphone was handed to Derico.
Life was already ebbing out of his poor soul and his vocal cords soon betrayed him. Trembling like a flayed cat on a dark, lonely winter night, he begged for his life and like all legendary criminals staring death in the face, he made some feeble last attempts to declare his innocence and plead for mercy that would never materialize. Full of regrets, shrieking in pain and covered with sweat, tears and blood, Derico twaddled:
“My name is Oddy, alias Derico, alias Nwa Mama. I appeal to you the people of Anambra State, please don’t kill me, I don’t like evil. It was when I killed Chiejina (another suspected robber) that people thought I am a strong guy, you know.’’
The crowd let out a confused mix of shouts and gibberish, the spirit of vengeance had possessed everyone in the city center but Derico continued begging and pleading for his life and at a point, he even denied robbing anyone:
“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…
