Photo: Four fake soldiers paraded in Lagos

Four fake soldiers identified as John Izunwanne, 25, John Otu, 23, Richard Acha, 22, and Simon Anthony, 39, who were arrested at various times along Mile 2 road, Idi-Araba and Agege area in Lagos state, were paraded by the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni at the force headquarters in Ikeja yesterday October 29th.

When interrogated, one of the suspects, 39 year old Simon Anthony, said he decided to wear the military uniform to secure free transportation from his base in Adamawa to Lagos state

“I was dismissed in January 2014 for falling out from duty. I am from Adamawa state. I wanted to use the uniform to travel to Lagos because I had no transport money. But unfortunately, I was arrested by soldiers,” he told the Nation.

Also one of the arrested fake soldiers, John Izunwanne said he wore the uniform because he wanted to secure free transportation.

“I wanted to go and sign my army recruitment form at Ojo Barracks when I bought the uniform at the Mammy Market. However, 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.”

One of the arrested fake soldiers Otu who is a member of the Citizen for Peace and First Aid Missions in Nigeria, said he heard his friends were arrested and went to the police to secure their bail, only to be arrested for wearing the uniform.