Ondo: People Now Hire Fake Soldiers To Settle Scores, Collect Debts – Police Command

By Ayodele Oni

The Ondo State Police Command has alerted that fake military officers are now being used to settle scores and collect debts by residents in the State.

The Command disclosed this while parading two fake army personnel and other suspected criminals now in the custody of the command.

Among fake uniformed officers is one Owolabi Abiodun, ‘m’, aged 27, nabbed for impersonation as a military man.

The Command, through the Spokesperson, Funmilayo Odulami, disclosed that: “On 11th of April, 2022, at about 2.00pm, information was received by Policemen attached to Oda Division, that a young man who claimed to be a student of School of Health Technology Akure, came alongside his friends, threatened and harassed his co-tenants and the landlord that his landlord will pay with his life if he evicts him from the house.

“Upon the receipt of the information, Policemen were sent to the house to invite him and his friends.

“Investigation however, revealed that the suspect had been parading himself to be a Soldier in his area.

“He, however, confessed that he was never a Soldier, but like the uniform and bought it from an open market.

“He is helping the Police with other information that can help in arresting his cohorts and those involved in the illegal buying and selling of Military uniform.

“In the same vain, on the 8th day of March 2022, one  Benedict Ifeanyi, ‘m’, aged 23  paraded himself as a soldier  to one Miss Tony Joy, promised  to assist the lady to arrest one Owolabi Olawumi, who defrauded her of the sum of two million Naira under the pretence of selling five plots of land to her.

“After arresting  Owolabi Olawumi, the suspect took him  to an unknown destination and obtained the sum of three hundred thousand naira from him without the knowledge of the complainant and lied to Joy  that he had taken the man to Army Barracks where he will be made to pay the money he obtained from her.

“Few weeks later when Joy didn’t hear about her money and the whereabout of the self acclaimed soldier, she went to Army Barracks to report him and it was confirmed that he was never a military man.

During interrogation, he confessed he was never a soldier.”

During the period under review, the Command made a haul of criminals including three suspected armed robbers, cultism and Murder, four Car Theft – four; Defilement/Ritual one; and Rescued of Kidnapped victims.

Items recovered include One Iveco Truck, Two (2) Axes, Four Masks, Weed, Jewelries, a ring and pieces of red clothes.