Fake
soldier arrested in Ibadan
- by Oluwatoyin Malik
- terseer adamu (Review)
- 14 July 2013 00:00
A 23-year-old okada rider is
currently in police net after he was alleged of parading himself as a soldier
and extorting money from members of the public in the guise of helping them to
get recruited into the Nigerian Army.
The okada rider, Adebisi Francis
a.k.a. No Time, was also alleged of terrorising residents of his neighbourhood
at Adegoke area of Challenge, Ibadan, beating them so much that they became
afraid of being around him.
This, it was gathered, led to his
being reported at 81 Battalion, Mokola, Ibadan, with the thought that his
bosses would curb his excesses, unknown to his neighbours that he was not a
military man. The notion that he was a soldier was said to have been created by
the army uniform and other accessories that he used to adorn himself with.
Crime Reports learnt that soldiers
from 81 Battalion stormed his house on June 13 and arrested him, with items
belonging to the Nigerian Army like uniforms, knapsack, water bottle, etc.,
found in his room. He was thereafter handed over to the State Criminal
Investigation Department of the Oyo State Police Command for investigations.
However, the suspect denied the
allegation, saying that he was reported by one of his neighbours because they
were not on speaking terms. He also revealed that he left Nigerian Army
training ground in Kaduna State in 2008 without a pass and went away with the
kits he was given, which he was still using.
According to Francis, who said he
was an Ondo state indigene, “I have been in Ibadan for five years. I am an
okada rider. I ended my formal education at SSS3. In 2008, I obtained a form to
get recruited into the Nigerian Army and I succeeded. I went for training in
Zaria, Kaduna State. After about five months there, my colleague and I went to
Basawa to eat Masa. On our way back to the training ground, we had an accident
on okada. Since I could not meet up again, coupled with the fact that we were
not given a pass before we left, I did not return to the training ground.
“After I was discharged from
hospital, I went to Ondo State. When there was nothing for me to do, I came to
Ibadan and was staying in 2 Division. I bought an okada and started working
with it. I applied for recruitment into the Nigerian Army in 2009 and 2010 but
I did not succeed. I also tried the police, same thing. My attempts were due to
the fact that I love professions with uniforms.
“The army uniforms found in my room
were the kits given to us while I was undergoing training. After the accident,
I converted the uniform to armless one and started using it. I didn’t know it
was an offence.”
He claimed that the man who went to
report him did so out of malice because they were not on speaking terms. “I
started living in the house in October, 2012 after civilians were asked to
vacate 81 Battalion at Mokola Barracks where I was staying. It was a neighbour
of mine who informed his brother who is a Quarter Master in the army that he
used to see me wearing army uniform. That was why I was arrested.”
The suspect was also alleged of
telling people that he was well connected in the army, collecting money to help
them process a successful recruitment. He was alleged to have collected N33,000
from one of those who fell victim to his antics, saying that he would connect
him with a colonel.
The suspect admitted this, but said
that his victim was like his younger brother, saying that they went to Akure
together to sit for Nigerian Defence Academy examination in Akure.
The Police Public relations Officer
in Oyo State, Olabisi Ilobanafor, confirmed the arrest, saying that the suspect
had been charged to court.
Source: http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/en/component/k2/item/16607-fake-soldier-arrested-in-ibadan.html
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