Fake soldier jailed six weeks

A Lagos State Mobile Court in Oshodi on Saturday sentenced a 25-year-old man, Kabiru Mohammed, to six weeks in a correctional centre with an option of a fine for impersonation and assault.

Mr Mohammed was arrested at the airport area of Lagos riding a motorcycle painted with the colour of the Nigerian Army and parading himself as a soldier.

In a statement by Taofeek Adebayo, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce), the suspect was arrested along with his commercial motorcycle painted in camouflage after assaulting members of the enforcement team of the agency with other miscreants at Airport Bus-stop along Lagos-Abeokuta Express-way.

“Operatives of the agency were coming from a monitoring and enforcement operations with over 150 impounded motorcycles loaded into three of the Agency’s trucks before the fake Soldier, whose commercial motorcycle was among those impounded on restricted routes, mobilised other miscreants and attacked the team with dangerous weapons such stones, bottles and iron-rod.

“The fake soldier was subsequently arrested after the attack and during investigations at our office it was discovered that he was an impersonator,” the statement said.

The agency said following an investigation, the arrested man confessed that he only claimed to be a soldier in order to retrieve his impounded commercial motorcycle and that he painted his motorcycle with Nigerian Army camouflage in order to evade arrest from security agents while engaging in commercial activities on restricted routes.

He was, thereafter, charged to a mobile court in Oshodi on a three-count charge on impersonation, assault and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.

Mr Mohammed reportedly pleaded guilty before the magistrate, Oyebimbola Adelakun, who sentenced him to six weeks in jail with an option of N40,000 fine.