A 43-year-old man, Muhameed Auwalu, has been arrested and detained by the Ogun Police Command for parading himself as a military officer in Ogere, Ikenne Local Government Area of the state.
Auwalu was arrested last Wednesday by operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team of the Ogere Police Division during a visibility patrol in the area.
PUNCH Metro gathered from a police source, who was privy to the incident but was not permitted to speak, on Tuesday, that the imposter was parading himself with a military camouflage and his acclaimed profession’s identity card, which indicates that he is a serving naval officer deployed to Port Harcourt.
Auwalu confessed during an interrogation conducted by another team of military personnel in that area that he was not a trained officer of the Nigerian Navy.
It was said that Auwalu bought his military uniform for N10,000 and also his identity card for N5,000, and he alleged that one Umaru, who lives in the Ojodu-Berger Area of Lagos, sold it to him.
When asked how the costume supplier could be contacted, he said there was no way they could reach Umaru because he was now dead. His military outfit and identity card were recovered from him.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Ogun Police Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the development and said a discreet investigation was ongoing adding that the suspect was currently detained.
“The military imposter was intercepted by SWAT operatives during a patrol within Ogere Area. A discreet investigation is ongoing,” Odutola said.
PUNCH Metro reported that the Lagos State Police Command arrested a man simply identified as Femi Balogun for allegedly parading himself as a Sergeant in the Armed Forces at the Fagbile Estate in the Ijegun-Isheri area of the state.
It was also learnt that the alleged fake soldier was apprehended by the police while conducting a patrol around the estate.
A police source told our correspondent that the suspect had claimed to be a sergeant in the Armed Forces, adding that he was taken into custody based on a security arrangement with the military guard commander watching over the pipeline in Ijeododo.