Between 2009 and 2010, Obioma Nwankwo, better known as Osisikankwu, gripped Abia State with fear. Cities like Aba and Umuahia were paralyzed as his gang carried out daring kidnappings, armed robberies, and violent attacks. Commerce collapsed, families were torn apart, and fear became a daily companion.
In 2010 alone, his men abducted expatriates, businessmen, and journalists in a wave of high-profile kidnappings. On January 12, they ambushed a Shell convoy at Owaza Junction, killing police escorts and taking four expatriates. Later, they seized foreign nationals, staff of the Nigerian Steel Company, the wife of a businessman, and even senior journalists of the Nigerian Union of Journalists demanding millions in ransom.
Osisikankwu thrived on his vast network of informants and his ability to vanish into the forests of Ukwa West, where he was said to be protected by charms. To many, he seemed untouchable.
That illusion ended in December 2010 when a Joint Military Task Force tracked him to Ugwuati Evil Forest. After a fierce gun battle, Osisikankwu and two of his men were killed, thirteen hostages rescued, and weapons seized. His death brought relief to the people of Abia, who celebrated the end of one of the state’s darkest chapters.
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