NewsmakersNG

Dipo Kehinde & Alex Otudor/


In 1997, a militant known as the Lion sneaked into Nigeria with some rebels through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), in Lagos.

He went through security check points like a hot knife through butter.

Foday Sankoh was the leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who used to cut the limbs of those who get in his way during a dehumanizing war that claimed the lives of over 50, 000 people in Sierra Leone and inspired the film – Blood Diamond by American actor, Leonardo DiCaprio.

Sankoh knew his way around Nigeria.

He was trained as a rebel in Libya, after receiving military training in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as a corporal in the Sierra Leonean army.

Sankoh seemed to have friends in high places that facilitate his movement in Nigeria.

But that day in March 1997 was not his day.

It was a day when the path of the Lion crossed that of a Nigeria Police Officer known as the Tiger.

The Tiger, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Damian Nkem Okoro, was the Intelligence Officer at the MMIA then. The Very Important Personality (VIP) being guarded through the Airport aroused his curiosity, and he bravely stepped in, intercepted Sankoh and asked for his identity.

When Sankoh disclosed his identity, Okoro said: “Sir! You’re under arrest.”

Sankoh was shocked. He tried to negotiate his passage as he was moving with loads of cash and some armed guards, but Okoro stood his ground and brought him in.

At first, Sankoh was placed under arrest and immediately transferred to Abuja on the orders of the then Head of State, the late Gen Sani Abacha. Then, he was kept in prison by the Federal Government.

Sankoh’s arrest was Okoro’s first claim to fame. He received commendation from Gen Sani Abacha, for his tact, ability and courage.


Other intelligence and investigative breakthroughs in later years made Okoro a celebrity in Nigeria, where he won many awards and also received a medal for his courage and intelligence from former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, after he arrested Lagos-based Internet fraudsters who killed Cynthia Osokogu, a postgraduate student of Nasarawa State University and daughter of a retired General, Frank Osokogu. Okoro was also commended for rejecting N15million offered to release the killers on bail. He again successfully prosecuted the killers and got death sentences for them.

Before then, he had received the IGP Ibrahim Coomasie Award for Brilliant Investigation and Courage; award from the Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the late Gen. Musa Bamaiyi for dedication and tact, when he recovered hard drugs worth several millions of naira at the airport. He won the Best Area Commander in Nigeria award in 2013 at a ceremony in Ghana, and he was acclaimed as the Best Forensic Investigator in West Africa at an event organized by Security Watch Africa, in South Africa, among other recognitions.

As the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Area ‘E’ Command in Festac Town, where he busted the Osokogu case, Okoro also cracked several cases including that of a 26-year-old Ijeoma Nwachukwu, who was killed by a jealous lover in a hotel at Abule‑Oshun area of Lagos, and that of Lizzy Njideka Nzewi, a mother of four and the Managing Director of Edmark International, a networking company.

Lizzy was also killed by a 31-year-old lover-boy, Kenechukwu Williams, at her Green Estate home in Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos.

The lover-boy, who stole her ATM card and Range Rover Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), fled to Ghana and Ivory Coast, he was pursued across the border by Okoro with support from INTERPOL, and the killer was nabbed as he was attempting to flee from the West African country, where he had had a thanksgiving at a church on his arrival.

While in Festac Town, Okoro also recovered N30million from armed robbers and handed it over to the owner, a trader from Onitsha.

He also smashed a gang of kidnappers terrorizing Lagos from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire and arrested killers of a Customs Comptroller, Ody Nweze.

Encounter with Evans

Okoro was the first officer to confront the notorious kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike aka Evans, on the day the gang attempted to kidnap the owner of Young Shall Grow Motors in Festac Town. Two police officers were killed in the encounter, and the businessman was seriously injured with a shot close to his heart.

Okoro and his team killed two members of Evans gang and recovered two AK 47 rifles, over 400 rounds of ammunition, and 12 loaded magazines.

Okoro, a graduate of University of Lagos, Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, and Imo State University, Owerri, bagged a degree in Law (LLB), a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration.

He had also received training at the Egyptian Police Academy and at the Israeli Intelligence Agency, Mossad. He is one of the few police officers in Africa to read Maritime Law, specializing in Customs documents, Import papers and Ship/Shipping processes, which gave him an added advantage in cracking complicated imports/ Customs/clearing and forwarding related landmark cases at the sea and air ports.

In 2016, when the...http://www.newsmakersng.com/police-promote-tiger-that-caged-a-lion/

Weldone sir, I'm anti-ipop,anti-biafra but when I see extraordinary men doing extraordinary things I raise my hat for them.although most of the descendants of KANU don't see anything good in other tribes no matter the achievement of other tribes they will condemn them.God bless you sir,God bless pmb,God bless Nigeria.