A four-man syndicate of self-acclaimed soldiers, John Izunwanne, 25, John Otu, 23, Richard Acha, 22 and Simon Anthony, 39, arrested at Idi-Araba, Agege and Mile 2 areas of Lagos state, were Tuesday, paraded by Fatai Owoseni, the state Commissioner of Police.
The Commissioner, while briefing journalists, said that materials recovered from the suspects included two Nigerian army camouflage uniforms, army camouflage t-shirts, a pair of boots, two army belts and two jungle hats.
One of the arrested men, Anthony, who hails from Adamawa state, revealed that he had been dismissed from service as a corporal for absconding from duty.
He said, “I was dismissed in January 2014 for falling out from duty. I wanted to use the uniform to travel to Lagos because I had no transport money. But unfortunately, I was arrested by soldiers.”
Another suspect, Acha, said that he had found the camouflage t-shirt inside the bag his brother gave him at Ikeja cantonment.
Similarly, Otu said that he heard his friends were arrested and went to the police to secure their bail, but was also apprehended for wearing the uniform.
Izunwanne told journalists that he bought the uniform at Ojo Cantonment on September 2.
According to the 25-year-old, “I wanted to go and sign my army recruitment form at Ojo Barracks when I bought the uniform at the Mammy Market.
“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,” Izunwanne said.
The CP, however, stated that they would be appropriately penalized and charged to court soon.
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