A Lagos State Mobile Court over the weekend convicted and sentenced a fake soldier arrested by the operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce) for assault and impersonation to six weeks jail term.
Speaking on the arrest and arraignment, the Chairman of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce), CSP Shola Jejeloye, disclosed that the convicted fake soldier was apprehended after he collaborated with some miscreants to assault members of the enforcement team of the Agency at Airport Bus-Stop, along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
He said that the operatives of the Agency were coming from monitoring and enforcement operation with over 150 impounded motorcycles loaded into three of the Agency’s trucks before the fake soldier, whose commercial motorcycle was also among those impounded while plying restricted routes, mobilised hoodlums to attack the team with dangerous weapons.
“The fake soldier was subsequently arrested after the attack was quelled. However, it was during preliminary investigations that it was discovered that he was not a member of the Nigerian Armed Forces but an impersonator”, Jejeloye said.
“The man later confessed to having only claimed to be a soldier in order to retrieve his impounded commercial motorcycle and that he painted his motorcycle with Nigerian Army camouflage colour in order to evade arrest from security agents while engaging in commercial activities on restricted routes”, he added.
CSP Jejeloye urged members of the public to stop impersonating security agents to commit crimes as anyone caught would be seriously dealt with in accordance with the Law.
The Chairman, however, confirmed that the arraignment of the fake soldier at the Lagos Mobile Court was in compliance with the directive of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu.
Magistrate Oyebimbola Israel Adelakun, who presided over the matter, sentenced the accused Kabiru Mohammed (25 years) to six weeks in jail with N40,000 as an option of fine after he had pleaded guilty to the three-count charge of Assault, Conduct Likely to Cause Breach of Peace and Impersonation levelled against him.