NAIJA:A Suspect Said He Puts On Police Uniform To Get Free Ride From The Public.

A 48-year-old man, who was arrested by
the Lagos State Police Command for
impersonating a policeman, said he did it
to get favours from members of the public.

The suspect, Felix Braimoh, told policemen
at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad that he
usually got free rides from private and
commercial drivers by wearing police
uniform.

The suspect, who claimed to be a driver,
however, said he never extorted money
from members of the public.

The Edo State indigene said, “I am a driver
and I have worked for several companies.

However, after I had a hernia surgery, the
company I was working with decided to
sack me. I was given N32,000 and asked to leave.

“I used part of my savings to set up a
barber shop and a music studio.

However, I could not make ends meet as a barber and
a deejay and things became very difficult.”he said.

The suspect told P UNCH Metro that when
he could no longer pay his children’s
school fees, he got police accoutrement
and started wearing them to get favours
from members of the public.

He said, “I have five children and I could no
longer pay their school fees. One of my
friends, who is a mobile policeman gave me
an old pair of trousers. I put it on and then
bought a cap and a pair of boots from a
Man O War official.

“Anytime, I’m going out, I enter commercial
buses or motorcycles free of charge. I was
saving a lot of money on transport.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect was
arrested during the last environmental
sanitation exercise.

It was learnt that he had put on the police
cap and boots in order to avoid being
challenged by environmental task force
officials.

He said, “On that day, I went to do some
work in my shop but on my way back,
around Cele Bridge, I saw a policeman on a
motorcycle and I flagged him down and
asked him to give me a lift to Ejigbo. On our
way to Ejigbo, the man asked me where I
was serving but I opened up to him and
told him I was not a real policeman.

“The man stopped his ride and we got into
an argument. Around that time, a police
patrol vehicle was driving by and the
policemen spotted us. I was arrested and
taken to Ikotun Police Division.”
The suspect however pleaded with the
police to let him go as he had never
claimed to be a policeman.

“I never used the uniform to extort money.

Even after I was arrested, policemen went
to my house and conducted a search. They
did not find anything incriminating,” he
said.

The spokesperson for the state police
command, Damasus Ozoani, said the
suspect would be charged to court.

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