He was born Lawrence Nomanyagbon Anini; but he
re-christened himself ANINI THE LAW. He sent fears
and chills down the spine of many a Nigerian –
particularly residents of Benin city in the old Bendel
State!
To underscore his notoriety, especially the
embarrassing registration of his presence in the
consciousness of Nigerians right up to the
Presidency, his dangerous and awe-inspiring exploits
compelled then military President, Ibrahim Badamasi
Babangida, to ask his Inspector General of Police,
IGP, Etim Inyang, the very famous question: “My
friend, where is Anini”?
Anini The Law, as he was known then, grew larger
than life such that the myth woven around him was
so deifying that people actually thought he was a god
or some type of spirit being that he was imbued with
the qualities of omnipotence, omnipresent and
omniscience.
He operated a team of just about four to five
members. For a skilled taxi driver who was born in a
village just some 20kms from the heart of Benin city,
Anini became a Capone in his own right at the motor
parks; this, after serving time with some leaders of
gangs in the underworld.
He was said to have struck a deal with some
policemen to help suppress evidence in a case
involving some members of his gang but the deal did
not yield the desired result.
This, reports had it, led to his anger against the
police for betraying him. It is for this reason that
Oyakhire and some other very senior police officers
had to be drafted to Benin for his case. So notorious
was Anini that even WIKIPEDIA could not but
acknowledge that he once existed.
The Free Encyclopedia wrote of him thus:
“Lawrence Nomanyagbon Anini (c. 1960 – March 29,
1987) was a Nigerian bandit who terrorized Benin
City in the 1980s along with his sidekick Monday
Osunbor. He was captured and executed for his
crimes.

“Life


“Anini was born in a village about 20 miles from
Benin City in present day Edo State. He migrated to
Benin at an early age, learned to drive and became a
skilled taxi driver in a few years. He became known in
Benin motor parks as a man who could control the
varied competing interest among motor park touts
and operators.
He later dived into the criminal business in the city
and soon became a driver and transporter for gangs,
criminal godfathers and thieves. Later on, he decided
to create his own gang and they started out as car
hijackers, bus robbers and bank thieves. Gradually,
he extended his criminal acts to other towns and
cities far north and east of Benin.
The complicity of the police is believed to have
triggered Anini’s reign of terror in 1986. In early 1986,
two members of his gang were tried and prosecuted
against an earlier under-the-table bribe induced
agreement with the police to destroy evidence
against the gang members.
The incident, and Anini’s view of police betrayal, is
believed to have spurred retaliatory actions by Anini.
On August, 1986, a fatal bank robbery linked to Anini
was reported in which a police officer and a child
were killed. That same month, two officers on duty
were shot at a barricade while trying to stop Anini’s
car. During a span of three months, he was known to
have killed 9 police officers. He wrote numerous
letters to media houses using political tones of Robin
Hood-like words to describe his criminal acts.
On December 3, 1986, he was caught at a house off a
main street of Benin City in the company of a girl
friend. Anini was shot in the leg, transferred to a
military hospital, and had one of his legs amputated.
The country’s military leader, Babangida, demanded
a speedy trial. Anini was convicted of most of his
charges and was executed on March 29, 1987; also
his friend Monday Osunbor was sentenced to death.

Wait ,why is this under celebrity section....
Anyways we're in Nigeria where anyone can be a celebrity
even ritualists.