Fake Army Colonel Arrested

The Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit has arrested a middle aged colonel over impersonation.

The fake colonel, Olugbemiga Osoba, who hails from Ogun State, was arrested while he was trying to convince the taskforce chairman, Bayo Sulaiman that he was truly a colonel in the Nigerian Army.

It was gathered that he wanted to use the ploy to secure his friends the commuter bus seized from him on Ikorodu Road by taskforce officials at the taskforce office, Alausa, Ikeja, Southwest Nigeria.

Osoba, before his arrest, was said to have boasted that he would deal with the taskforce officials who impounded the bus of one of his friends.

At the taskforce office, Osoba vehemently demanded to see the taskforce boss and filled on his form that he was a colonel in the army.

The taskforce boss, Sulaiman asked the fake colonel to produce his identity card and he brought out an identity card issued to him as honorary member of the Nigerian Army Officers’ Mess.

Seeing that his game was up, he prostrated before the taskforce boss, pleading for mercy while the taskforce chairman was said to be angry and ordered his arrest for impersonating the military and lying that he was a military officer when he was not.

Sulaiman said the fake army colonel would be charged to court for impersonation to serve as deterrent to others who might want to follow his example.

When asked, Osoba admitted that he was not an army colonel, saying that he made a mistake by lying, while asking for mercy.

He told P.M.NEWS that “by all standards, I made a bloody mistake. I am an honorary member of the army headquarters mess, Apapa. I knew I lied and I told the lie to help my colleague.”

According to him, the bus of his friend was impounded and that he wanted to help out by pretending and brandishing the honorary membership identity card he was issued to deceive the public.

Osoba said he is an Architect by profession, adding that he is a member of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and that he was on 70 days praying and fasting called by the church.

Meanwhile, the taskforce said it has moved part of its operational base to Ikorodu area as a result of some nefarious happenings in the area.

According to Sulaiman, there had been lots of complaints by residents in the area over gross disorderliness and traffic snarl, saying that the presence of the taskforce would help to salvage some problems in the area.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga