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…wife says husband found in possession of 77 desert boots, 20 in camuoflage
By: Okosun Dennis
The Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army (NA) has said that the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has petitioned the General Officer Commanding 81 Division NA, over the detention of a civilian named Jude Eze at Dodan Barracks, Lagos.
In a statement by the Acting Deputy Director, 81 Division Army Public Relations, Major Osoba Olaniyi said that recently the 81 Division arrested several impostors posing as military personnel, and were paraded before the media and subsequently handed over to the Nigeria Police for further necessary action.
According to him, “Preliminary investigations conducted on the impostors revealed that most of them acquired their military accoutrements from illegal vendors within Lagos. This finding, necessitated a raid on illegal vendors of military accoutrements in Lagos, leading to the arrest of several culprits.
Currently, the statement added, “investigation into their activities is ongoing to obtain more intelligence and unravel some suspicions about their activities and networks, both within and outside Nigeria, since it is a matter that touches on breach of national security.
However, when contacted the Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mr Ukechukwu Nwanguma said that they had acted on a complaint received from the wife of the suspect, Mrs Favour Amarachi Ibe, who alleged that her husband was illegally detained at a military facility.
Consequent upon that, in a petition, RULAAC explained that “Mrs. Favour Amarachi Ibe, the wife of the detained businessman, informed us that her husband was arrested by some Military Police personnel on March 5, 2022 and has been detained at Dodan Barracks over some boots they saw and impounded from his shop.
“She said her husband kept 77 pairs of Desert Boot in the shop of the man that the military police personnel came to arrest and they saw and took the boots and asked him to report at their office. He reported and was locked up by the military police, alongside his friend and sales boy who accompanied him.
“He was arrested because of the Desert Boots, about 20 pairs of which are camouflage’.
“According to Mrs. Ibe, ‘they have done all the necessary investigations and said they saw nothing, but the investigating officer said that the oga is tagging him the person supplying IPOB BOOT”.
When our correspondent contacted Mrs Favour Amarachi Ibe, wife to the suspect, she revealed how her husband was arrested after the Military Police discovered some desert military boots he kept in a neighbour’s shop at Arena Market located at Ikeja Military Cantonment.
She explained while pleading that the Army authority should set her husband free noting that he was suffering from High Blood Pressure. “He has BP. Even before he was detained, he has been on drugs. His continued detention has worsened his health condition as he wasn’t looking good when I visited him.
Asked if her husband was licenced to sell military accoutrements, she said no but maintained that he imported them into the country. She claimed that since the military has finished their investigation, they ought to release him or to the police but are still detaining him in their guardroom.
But Major Osoba reiterated in his statement that “The Division wishes to state that as soon as the investigation is concluded the suspect would be handed over to the appropriate security agency for further action.
“Members of the general public should be rest assured that the Division will continue to respect and protect the rights of citizens as enshrined in the constitution.
He enjoins members of the public to continue to support army’s operations with credible information on observed illicit activities and crimes being perpetrated by persons in military uniform, to rid Lagos and Ogun States of criminal elements using military uniform as cover.
It would be recalled that the 81 Division, Nigerian Army had on the 13th April, 2022 paraded 12 impostors for illegally using army uniforms and other accoutrements for carrying out illegal duties within its area of jurisdiction.
RULAAC is a non-profit, independent national human rights advocacy organization, registered in Nigeria with headquarters in Lagos and it focuses on promoting law enforcement accountability, transparent and responsible policing, respect for human rights and rule of law.
