MURDER ATTEMPT ON YOUNG SHALL GROW BOSS: POLICE MAKE MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH, ARREST TWO SUSPECTS
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| Chief Vincent Obianodo, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Young Shall Grow Motors |
- Police make major breakthrough, arrest two suspects
- Identify one of the two suspects killed on the day of attack
The Lagos State Police Command has recorded a major breakthrough in the
investigation of the assassination attempt on Chief Vincent Obianodo,
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Young Shall Grow Motors, which
occurred three weeks ago in FESTAC Town, Lagos.
The command has made two vital arrests and made positive identification
of one of the two suspects killed on that fateful day of August 27,
2013. It has also firmly established the incident as a clear
assassination attempt, contrary to earlier talks that it was a kidnap
attempt.
The identified deceased suspect, from Anambra State,was the leader of
the group. He was a young man in his 30s who frequented a popular
nightclub in FESTAC Town and was reportedly based in Ghana from where he
came for periodic operations. He was said to have two wives.
 |
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (left) with
Young Shall Grow Motors boss, Chief Vincent Obianodo,
who is recuperating after the attack by gunmen. |
According to a credible police source, which pleaded anonymity, a woman
and a young man have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Police’s success in establishing a lead quickly was due to its
dependence and knowledge of telephony technology. For instance, the
woman suspect was traced through the telephone handset of the deceased
suspect. The young man was picked up from a popular auto shop in FESTAC
Town where the deceased suspect frequented.
It was also learnt that so far, police have established a social
relationship between the woman and the deceased leader of the gang.
About three weeks before the incident, police learnt that the deceased
suspect was said to have given the woman N45million to keep for him. He
later came to collect the money.
The investigating team, led by ACP Dan Okoro, the Area E Commander,
according to our source, is trying to establish whether there is a nexus
between the money and assassination attempt. “I learnt that the team is
making a positive progress,” said the source.
We further learnt that police is on the trail of the other suspects who
escaped on that day. “They are on his trail and are closing in on him
and may soon be arrested”, the source said.
Police have also learnt that two months before the assassination attempt
was made, a young man had approached Obianodo, telling him that he had
information about a plan to kidnap him.
Thinking that the young man was on a blackmail business, Obianodo was
said to have got him arrested and he was subsequently detained at Zone
Two police headquarters. He was released after a while when police could
not establish any lead with his information. But few weeks after his
release, the young man was killed in Lagos in a mysterious circumstance.
When contacted, ACP Dan Okoro could not say much because, according to
him, only the Lagos Police Commissioner, Umar Manko, can speak in
details on the matter. When contacted, Manko told repoters on telephone
that the command has “made good progress” on the case. He promised that
soon, the command would address the press on the progress made on the
investigation.
Obianodo and his security aides were ambushed and attacked on the night
of Tuesday, August 29, 2013 in FESTAC Town, Lagos. He escaped, but his
driver and one security aide were killed in the attack. According to one
of the businessman’s personal security aides, who was on the convoy of
Obianodo when he was attacked, the suspected assassins blocked and
opened fire on their vehicles at a close range.
“We were returning from Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Club with the
chairman that night, unknown to us, the gunmen had laid siege for us. We
normally took 41 Road, whenever we were going home. But that day we
decided to take 3rd Avenue to link his residence on 4th Avenue. On
getting to 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue junction, a Honda SUV facing us
flashed its lights on us. Chief was the one driving and he dimmed the
light of our vehicle to give way for them to have their way, not knowing
they were after us”.
He further said that the gunmen then blocked Obianodo’s car, with his
escort vehicle behind and immediately opened fire. “They blocked us and
shot directly at the front of the jeep which Chief was driving and
bullets went directly to him. Fortunately, the bullet hit his arm. I was
in front with him. Chief stopped and crouched on his seat. I also
crouched pretending to have been wounded. The gunmen may have thought
that we were dead. One of them came down from their vehicle and walked
closer to our vehicle, perhaps to know whether we were dead. When he
tried to peep inside our vehicle, I shot him dead because I had already
cocked my gun waiting to shoot”.
Obianodo has since been flown abroad for treatment.
