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The Police in Lagos have arrested four persons for masquerading as Military personnel at Idi-Araba and Agege areas of the  state. Among them  was a private guard who went to secure the release of one of the impersonators at the police station. Recovered from the suspects according to Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni,  were two pairs of Nigerian Army  camouflage uniforms, one pair of Army green uniform, one Army camouflage T-shirt, one pair of boots, two Army belts and two jungle hats.

However, one of them, Simeone Anthony, told newsmen that he was dismissed from the Force last year, after fleeing  from terrorists on the battle field in Maiduguri. Asked why he did not return the Army property to them, he said: “There was no way I could have returned it because  I would be arrested and charged to court.  What I did was against the rules of the Nigerian Army. “I never used the uniform to carry out any criminal activity. I only used it to evade paying fare whenever I boarded commercial buses. But on the day I was arrested, the uniform was inside my bag and  I was on my way to Ikeja Cantonment. I am not a criminal, I swear,” said the 39-year-old Anthony.

On his part, 25-year-old Izu Nwane said his love for the military made him wear the uniform. The Ebonyi born suspect said: “I love the Nigerian Army and have been longing to  join. I bought their recruitment form and even wrote the exam at Ojo cantonment last month. I bought the uniform from a woman selling second hand clothes at the cantonment on October 7, 2015,  but I never knew that I was buying trouble.

Last week, a friend called me that his case was coming up at the Agege Magistrate’s Court. He asked me to come and stand as a witness for him. But I was not having money on me, so, I decided to wear the uniform in order to pave way in commercial buses.  I pulled off the uniform on reaching the court premises  and wore it after the court session, only to be arrested  by some policemen.”

In another news, a  200-level student of a university in Kogi State, Sebastine Odo in his quest for sharp and fast money, pretended to be one of the kidnappers that abducted the wife of The Sun Newspapers' Deputy Managing Director, Steve Nwosu, leading to his recent troubles as he has been arrested by police operatives attached to the Lagos State Police Command.

According to newsmen, Odo had put a call across to the husband of the abducted woman, Toyin, demanding for ransom before she would be released and after Nwosu reported the call to the police, the law enforcement officers used the call log to trace Odo and he was arrested. It was during investigations that it was realised that Odo wanted to extort money from the distressed family after reading of the kidnap in the newspapers and he confessed to the fact.