Lawrence Anini popularly known as Anini the Law was a notorious criminal who terrorised the southern part of Nigeria in the 1980's along side his gang. He was born in 1960 in present day Edo state in a village not far away from Benin city. He first started out as a taxi driver when he first moved to Benin. His driving skills led him to become the driver of various robbery gangs, thieves and criminal god fathers. Anini eventually decided to form his won gang which included Monday Osunbor, Friday Ofege, Eweka, Henry Ekponwan and Alhaji zed zed popularly known as Zegezege, though he was never captured.
Anini and his new gang first started out with hijacking of cars and robbing banks. Gradually, he extended his criminal acts to other towns and cities close to Benin. Anini's gang was believed to have maintained a healthy relationship with some top police officers during the 80's but the relationship became sour when two members of his gang were tried and prosecuted, against an earlier agreement with the police to destroy evidence against both gang members. This was perceived by Anini and his gang members as betrayal and is widely believed to have spurred retaliation from them.
In August 1986, a bank robbery was carried out killing one police man. Anini's group also said there were responsible for those criminal actions. He also killed two officers in the same August who were trying to stop his car and before the end of November, Anini had taken the life of 9 police men. In August 1986, Anini and his fellow gang members stormed a town called Sabogida Ora in present day Edo state and stole N2,000 killing more than 20 people. In September of that same year, he masterminded the hijacking off two different Peugeot 504 car,the first from Albert Otoe, the driver of the then Inspector General of Police. In snatching the car, the driver was killed and then hid his corpse somewhere but his body was later found along Benin-Agbor Express way. A day after that attack, he also hijacked another Peugeot 504 car close to former FEDECO office in Benin.
Anini continued his bloody attacks on the police on the 8th of September as he gunned down two police men in Orhiowon Local Government Area in present day Edo state. For the month of September, Anini had carried out three different robbery attacks killing Frank Unoami, a former employee of the Nigerian observer news papers, Mrs Remi Sobanjo, a chartered accountant and the stealing of a Mercedes Benz car belonging to the Ughelli Monarch in Benin. He also attacked a gas station where he made away with the day's sales and killed the stations attendant.
The height of Anini's exploits, however, took place on Nigeria's independence day celebration on 1st of October 1986, when they attacked the convoy of the then Commissioner for Police, Casmir Igbokwe. The police officer survived and managed to escape with severe injuries . On that same day, Anini's gang had gunned down a police man within the city. He was almost caught by the police in October 1986 when an operation that went bad forced him to drive in reverse from Agbor to Benin City. On 21st of October 1986, Anini and his group murdered a Benin based Medical Doctor , A.O Emojere along textile mill road in Benin. They also carried out robbery attacks on several banks including the Agbor brancch of African Continental Bank and carted away with a huge sum of N46,000. Anini the law, turned a giver by spraying Naira notes on the streets for market women and men to pick at a village near Benin. He was also reported to have written several letters to media houses describing his criminal acts.
Anini's three month reign of terror between August 1986 and November 1986 triggered action from the then President of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babagida. The then President ordered a massive manhunt for Anini and his fellow robbers. The then Nigerian Government doubled the number of police men in the defunct Bendel State, deploying hundreds of armed personnel in an effort to quickly capture him.
However, the police manhunt failed to stop their actions. Anini and his gang intensified their criminal actions and for a while it looked like they will never be caught. At the conclusion of a meeting of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, the President asked the then Inspector General of Police Etim Iyang ''my friend, where is Anini?"
Finally, the then Superintendent of Police, Kayode Uareroro spearheaded the end of Anini's reign of terror. He was caught on 3rd December 1986 at Oyemwaso street opposite Iguodala Primary school in Benin city with six women. With aid from the locals, the police man(superintendent of police) went straight into the house and met him with very little resistance. Initially, the police were unsure if he was really Anini or not. Anini tried to take advantage of their ignorance by lying to the police and escaping. He shoved and headbutted the police officer in an attempt to escape but it was an exercise in futility. The police officer quickly reached for his gin and shut him on his right ankle. They put him in a sitting position pumping more bullets into his leg. In serious pain now, he admitted that he was Anini and was then taken to the police command head quarters where the state commissioner for police Bendel State, Parry Oseyande was waiting.
While in Police custody, he communicated most in Pidgin English and made a lot of revelations about him and his gang including the names of his other members and some key police officers who was collaborating with the notorious gang. He particularly revealed that Iyamu, the most senior police officer collaborating with the robbers would reveal police secrets to them and also deliver arms to carry out robbery operations. He further revealed that Iyamu also benefited from the loots. Anini was then shot in the leg, transferred to a military hospital and had one of his legs amputated. His assistant Monday Osunbor, was also captured. His hideouts was eventually searched, as police recovered assorted charms including one he usually wears around his waist during operations.
Iyamu expectedly refuted claims that he collaborated with the deadly gang but was rather convicted in the High Court of Justice, off Sapele road in Benin City and was sentenced to death along side four other accused police officers by Justice Omo-Agege.
They were executed on March 29th, 1987 and just before that, Justice Omo Agege remarked ''Anini will forever be remembered in the history of crime in this country, but it will not be of blessed memory. Few people if ever, would give the name to their children.''
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I remember some police use to remove their uniform by the mention of Anini's name

Na so my neighbors dey tell me say they know him in person
from their village