Police Arrest Fake, Fraudulent Nigerian Navy Commander

POLICE IG

For masquerading as a Nigerian Navy (NN) personnel and defrauding his victims, the  Zone 11 Command of the Nigeria Police, Onikan, Lagos, yesterday paraded  36-year-old Samuel Adekanla.

A search  at the suspect's house had unearthed many incriminating things including naval uniforms, the Identity card of a commodore and other military accoutrements, which helped the police to nail him.

The suspect, who had the entire paraphernalia of a navy commander but with the identity card of a commodore, had under the guise of being a naval commander forcefully taken possession of five cars belonging to a United States business man.

When all attempts to reclaim his cars failed, the businessman was said to have involved the police, who swung into action and first picked up the clearing agent who brought out the goods from the wharf.

The Zone 11 Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent Of Police (CSP) Lewi Suleiman, who paraded the suspect, said he was arrested following a petition by the victim who said he gave a clearing agent the job to clear five of his cars.

He said, "His worry was that the agent was nowhere to be found . We then swung into action and arrested the agent who claimed that a naval commander collected the cars from him.

"It was then we declared a manhunt for the supposed commander and when we finally picked him up, we discovered he was merely impersonating the military."

Suleiman said the suspect had confessed during interrogation that he was not a naval officer, rather he used the uniform to deceive his many unsuspecting victims that he was a responsible citizen.

Stating that the suspect would soon be charged to the court for impersonation and obtaining money under false pretence, he warned members of the public to verify the genuineness of any uniformed man before doing business with them as many of such fake persons are on the prowl.

Speaking to journalists, the suspect who admitted that he was a fake naval commander claimed he was a member of the Merchant Navy.

He said, "As regards the cars, it was a business transaction between myself and the clearing agent. We used the five cars valued at N13 million to deposit to one Alhaji who promised to give us loan but until now,the Alhaji has not given us the loan and he has refused to give us back the cars.

"I feel ashamed of myself because my family members and friends who see me as a naval commander will now discover that I am fake. If I am let go, I won't go back to the uniform but will use my HND certificate in Marine Engineering to look for a credible job."