Murder attempt on Young Shall Grow chairman

Police make major breakthrough, arrest two suspects
Identify one of the two suspects killed on the day of attack
By Chioma Igbokwe
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.
Saturday Sun learnt that 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.
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.
Saturday Sun 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.
Saturday Sun 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 Saturday Sun 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.