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Tag: ‘Fake’ soldiers’

  • Armed fake soldiers held escorting ‘politician’ in Imo

    Ahead of the February 16 Presidential election, four fake soldiers escorting an unnamed politician have been arrested in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

    Parading the suspects, who were fully dressed in Military fatigue, during a Peace Parley for candidates, the Commander 34 Artillery Brigade Obinze, Brigadier General H. I Bature, disclosed that fake soldiers have infiltrated the state to cause chaos during the general elections.

    He stated that desperate politicians have equipped hoodlums with Army Uniforms and weapons to perpetrate violence in the state, warning that all those involved in the ignoble act will be fished out and dealt with.

    According to him, “two of these fake soldiers were arrested escorting a politician. You will marvel at the kind of ammunition that was in their possession. But no matter how much they disguise, we have a way of finding out the fake soldiers.

    Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police, Dasuki and Galadanchi, urged the politicians to play by the rules and jettison all forms of violence.

    According to him, the State has witnessed relative peace when compared to other states in the Federation, as a result of the “cooperation and support of the people of the state”.

    He said, “you will agree with me that this hard-earned peace and tranquillity we enjoy and experience in Imo State should be guarded jealously, thus, we have no other option than to ensure this endures before, during and after the elections”

  • Dismissed Lance Corporals, others held for lorry ‘hijack’

    Two dismissed Lance Corporals, a fake soldier and two others have been arrested by the police in Lagos for allegedly hijacking a vegetable oil laden truck at Epe.

    The suspects, Akintola Abiodun of the Nigerian Air Force (13NAF/89/8811), Moses Johnson of the army (13NA/69/8811), Monday Ayele, 42, Esowanne Emeka, 30, and the fake soldier Osegbu Chidi, 30, were paraded on Wednesday  by Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal.

    According to Edgal, the suspects were notorious highway armed robbers, who specialised in intercepting, diverting lorries in that axis.

    He said the command had received several complaints from victims of military men hijacking vehicles carrying goods, adding that with the arrest of the suspects, it has been established that the perpetrators of the crime were criminals impersonating the military.

    Edgal said the suspects were arrested on Sunday night after they hijacked a Sterling truck with registration number LSR266XW carrying vegetable oil worth N13,250,000 million.

    He said: “They stopped the Kano State bound truck close to Ijebu Ode and pushed the conductor and the driver out of the vehicle. However, as the duo were trekking towards Epe, Lagos, they came across a policeman and narrated their ordeal to him.

    “The policeman immediately contacted some of the police stations along the route taken by the robbers. At about 10:30pm, policemen on stop and search duty, saw the truck coming and intercepted it. In the process, Ayele and Emeka were arrested.

    “During interrogation, they mentioned the others as part of those who hijacked the truck.

    “The truck and the goods were recovered intact and all the suspects have been identified by the victims. Suspects will be charged to court at the conclusion of investigation.”

    However, the ex-personnel, who were dismissed for allegedly aiding Boko Haram and riotous behaviour, denied involvement in the hijack.

    They claimed they were only invited by one Oloja for escort duty. While Johnson said he was promised N10,000 to escort the truck, Abiodun disclosed that his fee was N20,000.

    Admitting it was wrong to have worn military camouflage years after they had been dismissed, the duo said they usually used the attire for escort duties so as to get money to feed.

    Narrating how his truck was hijacked, the driver, Rabiu Kazeem said: “I saw a hilux with amber light. It flagged me down and I saw some men with soldiers uniform. I stopped and they told me to get down. I asked them what I have done but they brought out their gun.

    Read Also: Man breaks into shop, steals N180,000 goods

    “My conductor jumped into the bush. Since I was alone, I could not do much. I stepped down but I didn’t  go far. I sat on an iron underneath the vehicle and clung to its arm rest because I wanted to know where they were taking the truck to.

    “But one of them who was on a bike saw me. I did not know he was their member. He told me to come down that he will help me pursue them, that it was dangerous for me to stay in that position.

    “I listened to him but instead of pursuing the truck, he became slow and so, I raised alarm. People in the community came out and I explained what happened, begged them to hold that man while I entered another vehicle to look for them.

    On our way to look for them, we saw Rapid Response Squad (RRS) patrol vehicle and informed them about what happened.

    “I am so grateful to the police for rescuing this truck and the product. If not, the owner would have sent me to jail that I sold his goods, whereas, it was armed robbers that took them.”

  • Four fake soldiers held

    Four fake soldiers held

    Four fake soldiers arrested at Idi-Araba, Agege and Mile 2 areas of the state were yesterday paraded by Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni.

    They are John Izunwanne, 25, John Otu, 23, Richard Acha, 22, and Simon Anthony, 39.

    Materials recovered from them included: two pairs of the Nigerian Army camouflage uniform; a pair of Army uniform, Army camouflage T-shirt,  a pair of boots, two Army belts and two jungle hats.

    Anthony told reporters that he was dismissed from service as a corporal for falling out from duty.

    “I was dismissed in January 2014 for falling out from duty. I am from Adamawa state. I wanted to use the uniform to travel to Lagos because I had no transport money. But unfortunately, I was arrested by soldiers,” he said.

    Acha, a welder from Benue State, said he found the camouflage T-shirt inside the bag his brother gave him at Ikeja cantonment.

    “I wore it. I was arrested for wearing the army T-shirt,” he said.

    Izunwanne said he bought the uniform at Ojo Cantonment on September 2.

    He said: “I wanted to go and sign my army recruitment form at Ojo Barracks when I bought the uniform at the Mammy Market. However, on October 7, my friend had a court case and I was to appear in court as a witness. The court was in Agege and I did not have the transport fare to go, so, I decided to wear my uniform to save me the cost of transportation.”

    Otu, a member of the Citizen for Peace and First Aid Missions in Nigeria, said he heard his friends were arrested and went to the police to secure their bail, only to be arrested for wearing the uniform.

  • Police parade ‘fake soldiers, car thieves’

    Police parade ‘fake soldiers, car thieves’

    •‘Suspect threatened to blow up command headquarters’ 

    Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni yesterday paraded three fake soldiers, one fake Air Force personnel and three car snatchers. The ‘fake soldiers’ are Markus Gabriel (22) from Ngwa in Abia State, Ikemefuna Ude (39) from Agwu (Enugu). Their Air Force accomplice is Dare Tijani (28) from Ikire in Osun State.

    The others are Chukwuma Ikechukwu, 31 from Ohafia, Abia State, Israel Damascus, 32, a Ghanaian and Lucky Anene, 25, from Okuzu in Delta State.

    Five cars and two Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were recovered from them. One of the SUVs was marked BNS513AA. Among the cars were two Toyota Camry with number plates TGD733AA and ANA360AA.

    Owoseni urged Lagosians to be part of the fight against hoodlums to enhance community policing, saying: “Even if you post one million policemen here in Lagos, it will not be enough.”

    Owoseni said investigation revealed that Tijani, who claimed to be a dismissed personnel from the Nigerian Air Force, Kaduna, was never an air force personnel.

    He said that the suspect would soon be charged to court.

    He said the suspect threatened to blow up the Command Headquarters because policemen at Ipaja Division refused to grant his friend bail.

    In the same vein, the police in Lagos also arrested three fake soldiers at Iyana Oba area of Ojo.

    The raid of people selling noodles at odd hours, he said, became necessary because robbers use those spots as hide-outs for their weapons before going on operation.

    [ad id=”403656″]Drug peddlers, he said, also use those spots to sell hard drugs.

    Tijani said he was into children entertainment, adding that he got the Air Force uniform from his friend Mutiu, a soldier, to enable him poses as an officer when he goes to meet his fiancee, Shade.  He said he was arrested in a bus at Iyana Ipaja.

    Tijani noted that he was enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force in 2010 and served at the Air Force workshop in Kanduna.

    “I came to Lagos to seek for greener pasture after his dismissal from service.On arrival, I started working as a DJ along with some of my friends. One of friend who is also a DJ was arrested by the police at Iyana Ipaja while driving. I had gone to secure his bail dressed in Air Force uniform.

    “I stormed out of the station when the police at Ipaja refused to accord me my due respect as a man in military uniform and threatened to come back with some of my colleagues. I was subsequently detained and later brought to the command Headquarters. It was during interrogation that the police discovered that I was fake personnel,” he added.

    Ude, who claimed to be a printer, said the other suspects came to his office at Ojo to scan and print military identity cards at N700 each. He stated that they claimed they lost their original identity cards, adding that he did not know they wanted to commit crime with the cards.

    Anene said he wore the military uniform to escort cars which he did not know were snatched.

    Damascus said he came to Nigeria in 2011, adding that his friend, Jerry introduced him into car stealing.

    He said he had done two operations but met his waterloo in the third operation.

     

  • ‘Fake’ soldiers’ in Fayose’s hometown, says Ekiti APC

    ‘Fake’ soldiers’ in Fayose’s hometown, says Ekiti APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has raised the alarm over the alleged importation of men in Army uniform into the state ahead of the March 28 and April 11 general elections.

    The party claimed that the “soldiers” from Ibadan arrived in Afao-Ekiti, the hometown of Governor Ayo Fayose, late on Tuesday and have since been quartered there.

    The APC, in a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, alleged that the men in Army uniform were conveyed to the state in six 18-seater buses, arriving at the Afao residence of the governor at 9.15 pm.

    Olatubosun said Nigerians must know why the young men were imported into the state at night, adding that the enquiry became necessary against the background of Fayose’s insistence that “soldiers” would be deployed for the general elections even when the courts have ruled against such deployment.

    The APC spokesman said the party had earlier raised the alarm over the sewing of fake military uniforms for thugs to impersonate security personnel to enable them rig elections.

    He said: “Last night’s importation of young men in six 18-seater buses to Afao-Ekiti home of the governor is a clear confirmation of our fear that Fayose means business as he has been boasting around that the presidential election will be ‘do or die’.

    “We were monitoring these young men from Ibadan yesterday evening.They were brought in a luxury bus parked under the bridge at Iwo Road, Ibadan, where the men in charge were looking for smaller buses to convey these young men to Ekiti.

    “The conditions for their hiring included that they must know Ekiti terrain and Afao-Ekiti in particular.

    “The six buses left Ibadan late in the evening and arrived Afao-Ekiti at exactly 9.15pm and the men disembarked in front of the governor’s house.

    “What gave them away was the discovery of Army uniforms in their bags when they opened their bags to buy hot drinks and akara from road hawkers inside bumps at Ikire.”

    “The standard practice by the governor is to travel out of the state when he is about to foment a major crisis to enable him plead alibi. We heard that he had travelled out of the state and so we are not surprised that this is happening.”

    But Fayose denied the allegation, accusing the opposition of raising unnecessary alarm.

    Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose wondered what soldiers would be doing in the state when the election is 34 days away, saying it was only the President who has the power to deploy soldiers.

    Fayose said: “Ekiti APC is raising unnecessary alarm because there are no soldiers being kept at Afao as the party alleged.

    “Election has not come; we have about 34 days to the election. What will that number of soldiers be doing in Ekiti?  Beside that, only Mr President can deploy military to provide security during election.”