Army Chief Warns Against Impersonation

As part of the on-going efforts to stem crime and checkmate criminals in Lagos State, the Lagos Military formation Wednesday warned members of the public against impersonation of soldiers saying those caught in the act would be dealt with severely.

Commander 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Ikeja, Brigadier-General Sanusi Nasiru Muazu, who gave the warning while briefing Government House Correspondents at the Lagos House, Alausa, after the State Security Council Meeting, also warned those he said engage in producing fake Military ID cards pointing out that the Military has not appointed anyone to that effect.

According to the Commander, “We realize that majority of those parading themselves as soldiers in Lagos are not soldiers; they are impersonators. We want the public to note that anybody who impersonates a soldier is something that will not be tolerated by the Military”.

“The Military has their own mode of dressing. In the Army, we have dress code for everyday. On Monday we wear green, on Tuesday we wear what we call Number 7, on Wednesdays and Fridays, we wear green. Anybody on camouflage is either on duty or operation. Anybody who wears camouflage and is not on duty or operation is an impersonator”, the Commander said.

On the production of fake Military ID cards, Muazu said the Military has stormed the location where the fake IDs are produced in the state and arrested the producers warning that those who still indulge in the practice should desist or be ready to face the law.

He said all soldiers have been warned to cooperate fully with the police especially at checkpoints where they are expected to identify themselves properly with a proper Military ID card.

Also answering questions from the Correspondents on the other topics discussed at the meeting, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, Mr. Tunde Sobulo, who represented the State Commissioner of Police at the meeting, said the council also examined the strategies being employed to fight crime in the state, adding that with the support from the military, crime, especially car snatching has gone down.

Sobulo who revealed that the car thieves have devised another means whereby they remove cars from where they are parked, warned members of the public to be careful where and how they park their cars.

On some of the new strategies devised by the council for crime fighting, Sobulo said aside from the Police-Military-OPMESA joint patrol, the police have divided the Area Commands into zones so that there would always be two to three vehicles on patrol from one area command which, according to him, “means that there are four patrol vehicles from one division patrolling the whole four divisions.

“If there is a distress call in any of the divisions, the whole four vehicles move to the area immediately. This has reduced response time from under 30 minutes to barely 10 minutes,” the deputy commissioner said.