Shina Rambo was a bandit who terrorised South-West Nigeria in the 1990s. We was one of the most Notorious Armed Robbers in the Nigerian History.
He was about 6 ft 5inch tall, well built and dark skinned with terrifying eyes.
He served jail time for his crimes then later became a born again Christian. He changed his name to Mathew Oluwanifemi.
Before becoming a Christian, Shina was feared by most people who lived in the South West of Nigeria and in places outside Nigeria like Benin Republic.
Early Life of Shina Rambo
Shina was born in 1958 to a military family from Abeokuta Ogun State in the South Western region of Nigeria. His mother was a native of Sabongida-Ora in Edo State. His father who was a military personnel had about 18 wives as it was the norm in those days for soldiers to have many wives.
His father, a corrupt officer used his military influence to rob innocent citizen and brought huge amount of money home. This had a bad influence on Shina as he recalls, “I remembered when I was about 7 years old, my father came home with a lot of money, foreign currencies, with blood on it, and they were using something like a woman’s scarf to wipe it, then I asked him, is this an animal’s blood, or human blood? But he wouldn’t answer me, they were just drinking, smoking, and merry making.”
His father will teach him how to dismantle and assemble all sorts of weapons and how to service guns at the tender age of 7.
An incident that occurred that Shina recalls was a day his father stepped into the toilet, and Shina found a disassembled gun on the floor. He assembled in a short time only for his father to come out of the toilet to see a son with a loaded gun in his hands. His father was terrified. In the words of Shina he said, “That day my father was so disappointed, that he wanted to kill me, he grabbed the gun from my hand and shot straight at me, but I miraculously escaped out of the room. Then he waited for me to be less alert at night he came to my room with a machete and tried to behead me, but once again, I escaped, but the machete caught my left leg. It cut me so deep I thought I was never going to walk again.”
At that point Shina Rambo had his mind made up to become a notorious criminal and pursue a career in armed robbery.
That day I knew I had graduated, all that was left was to pull the trigger, and I was so eager.
Shina Rambo Spiritual Powers
Shina sort to get spiritual powers for fortification. In his words during an interview he says “I was involved in so many rituals, that I can’t start naming them now, I was so powerful, I went underground, inside trees that looked like a city, a lot of beautiful houses inside the tree, I had my own too. I went into a river called River of life in Ogoja, where a lot of politicians and wealthy men used to come. I had several personalities, I could change my form whenever I wanted to, that’s why the police were busy killing innocent people, and thought they were killing Shina Rambo.
The 9 herbalists that gave me that power, I became stronger than them, one day I went to their shrines, and killed all of them, so that they don’t reveal my secrets. I had too many powers; my spiritual wife could drive any car in this world or out of it, no police vehicle, or anyone for that matter, could ever chase and catch me during an operation. She was out of this world, and when she had completed her operation, they took her away from me. I could give anything to get powers, and the elders knew, so they also gave me anything I wanted. I once beheaded hundred men, and gave them the heads fresh, they were so happy with me that they made me invincible.
No matter the kind of bullet you shot at me, it was just like pure water on my body. I could give anything to get power, but of all the things I did to get power,
the one that still breaks my heart the most, is sleeping with my mother. My father is dead now, but my mother is still alive, and she lives with me she is 85 years old. Whenever I set my eyes on her, I just start crying. I can’t bear it.”
Shina Rambo the Terrorist
Shina Rambo was a terror and dreaded by Nigerians and some of the residents of neighbouring countries. Even the police feared him.
He would go to police stations, in broad daylight and kill every policeman there, drive to check points and open fire on every policeman on duty, he didn’t like the police at all, and was never afraid of them, he operated in broad day light armed to the teeth
He once robbed 40 exotic cars in one day and drove all of them in a convoy, from Lagos to Cotonou, unstopped. He was powerful; he was wealthy, and impenetrable. He was a tin god, apparently belched from the very arroyo hell, we all dreaded him. He had a wife and three children, but he lost all of them in one day during a bloody police raid whilst he was away on operation. His wife was his stabilizing factor his life changed afterwards. He says “my wife was everything to me, I was forbidden by the elders to sleep with any other woman apart from her. I could gather about 50 women around me in a hotel, and they will just be playing with me. We would smoke, drink, and sniff cocaine, I will give them money but I will never sleep with them. I will go back home to my wife and sleep with her. That was why the police never caught me. She knew my job, she knew what I was and I never left them alone at night, I operated in the day time and go back home to my family at night.
Shina the Wealthy Man
I had everything, I was very wealthy, I sometimes spent 50 million naira in a day, I did that a lot. There was one day that we were coming from an operation and it seemed as if my powers were going to fail me, the police and the army were almost closing in on us, so we had to drive into a crowd and threw millions of naira in the air, there was commotion, everybody was busy picking naira notes even the police, until we escaped.
I was too rich, but anything the devil gives you never lasts, he will collect more from you, it’s only the devil that will give you Fila, (cap) and ask for Iro and Buba (wrapper and top). I lost everything, all the money, my family; I was so powerful the police couldn’t catch me but I lost it all. I had to surrender myself to the police and I was arrested and jailed for 11 years.
Shina Rambo’s conversion to Christianity
Rambo reminded that after terrorising the South west in 1990s, he gave himself up to the police, convicted and was released from prison after serving 11 years at Agodi Prison, Ibadan. According to him, he met the Lord miraculously through a chance encounter in prison with Prophet T.O Obadare and since then his life had not remained the same, and had a prison ministration.
Prophet T.O Obadare prayed for me and converted me, and changed my name to Oluwanifemi, and it was so miraculous, the next day I woke up and started speaking in tongues. It was during the time of President Olusegun Obasanjo, that we were granted freedom.
At this point, I was glued to my seat, the revival where Shina Rambo gave this exclusive confession was on an open ground revival in the ancient city of Ibadan. Right in front of me, on stage, was Evangelist Mathew Oluwanifemi, the once feared Shina Rambo, clad in a loose fitting shirt, black pants and a pair of leather sandals with a black Holy Bible in his hands, gigantic dark skinned and bald headed, still had those fiery looks, and stealth movement.
I was more transfixed than focused, God is indeed awesome, he picked the offering basket raised it to the congregation prayed and asked who had anything
to give to God, at first I was reluctant, my mind was occupied and out of an innate compulsion, sheer curiosity I stood up, dipped my hand in my pocket walked towards him briskly and calculatedly brought out my offering, dropped it into the basket, and looked deep into his eyes, I had too many things to ask him, there were too many questions unanswered. He looked back at me, and spoke in Yoruba, saying “God bless you my brother; we know your type when we see them”. The congregation broke into a mild giggle, as all eyes were on me as I went back to my seat, with a lot of things on my mind, and the red light on my midget still blinking, in the breast pocket of my jacket.
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