The 82 Division of Nigerian Army, Enugu on Thursday said it arrested a fake soldier and also smashed an electricity cable syndicate that operated in Nsukka area of the state as part of operations in the current “Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1.”
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, Maj.Gen. Lasisi Adegboye, who addressed newsmen on the recent feats, said the suspects were arrested by troops of Sector 5 within Enugu state.
According to Adegboye, since the take-off of the exercise a lot of threats to security had been curtailed by troops at various Super Camps based on accurate intelligence reports in collaboration with other security agencies within the 82 Division areas.
The GOC said: “On Tuesday, Nov 26, Troops of Sector 5 of Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1 on routine patrol arrested one impostor, Mr Madukwe Obinna, at Nsukka in Enugu state, while impersonating to be a serving soldier of the Nigerian Army.
“The suspect was in a vehicle conveying garden eggs from Abuja to Abia state; while preliminary investigation revealed that he was given a lift by the driver of the vehicle he boarded because he claimed to be a soldier.
“Items recovered from Madukwe include: Nigerian Army identity card, one pair of desert camouflage T-shirt, two camouflage T-shirts, one 3/4 camouflage short, one mobile phone and the sum of N40,000.
“Other items are a fake N1,000 note, a Japanese Yen, a toy pistol, fake Nigerian Police identity card, 26 Nigerian Army vehicle stickers, 23 Nigeria Army emblems, one pair of desert boots, 2 engineer cap badges, a name tag bearing MADUKWE O. I. and a jackknife.”
He further explained that in a related development, troops of sector 5 on patrol Nov. 27 at Opi, near Nsukka, were given tip-off by natives on activities of criminals suspected to be involved in stealing electric cables in the town.
Adegboye said: “A pursuit by own troops led to the arrest of one of the criminals by name Ifeanyi Agbaraenyi, while the other two fled on sighting own troop.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the vandals came from Udi, Onitsha and Enugu. However, his attempt to bribe the soldiers with N700,000 was stiffly resisted by the soldiers.”
The suspects, he said, would be handed over to the police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps commands in Enugu state for further investigation and prosecution.
The GOC, however, assured that the Division would continue to protect lives and property of the law-abiding citizen within its Areas of Responsibility and members of public are advised to report any suspicious movement or persons or objects.
“The public should report through Nigerian Army emergency call up no: 193 or other Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1 Sectors call up numbers earlier published.
“I wish to thank the good citizen of South-East for their continuous support and goodwill as troops deployed for Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1 create conducive environment before, during and after the Yuletide,” Adegboye said.
