A fake soldier was Monday morning, nabbed by traders at popular Robinson Plaza in the heart of Warri for stealing an iPhone from a lady.
He was later identified as a 21-year-old Usman Jafar, from Adamawa State.
Jafar narrowly escaped being clubbed to death by an angry mob for allegedly robbing a female victim of her iphone.
The incident occurred at about 9:30am, as traders and residents got angry seeing that the suspect was dressed in full military camouflage.
Luck ran out of the suspect when one of his female victims, whom he had robbed the previous day, recognised him and raised the alarm, prompting the fake army officer to take to his heels.
Tribune Online gathered that the fake military officer was wielding a dagger in his hand to scare his assailants while attempting to escape.
But he was eventually caught several kilometers from the plaza and was beaten blue black with a deep cut inflicted on the right side of his head.
The angry mob was poised to set the culprit ablaze when soldiers guarding the plaza and some mobile police men came to his rescue.
The mobile policemen eventually handed over the fake army officer to soldiers on duty at the residence of former Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. David Ejoor (retd) to confirm the identity of the soldier.
The soldier on guard duty at Major Gen Ejoor’s residence swung into action and dispersed the angry mob at the entrance gate who insisted to send the culprit to his early grave.
He also refused to handover the unidentified officer to police officers from the Nigeria Police Force ‘B’ Division in Warri.
A few minutes later, men from the Nigerian Army Barracks, 3 Battalion, Effurun in Uvwie Local Government Area of the state, whisked the suspect away to the barracks for further interrogation.
Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of the 3 Battalion could not be reached, but a senior officer of the Battalion, who spoke to Metro, but pleaded anonymity, gave the name of the suspect as one Jarphar Musa from Adamawa State.
Capt Gunmi said the culprit was a fake soldier and an impersonator of the army, adding that he had been kept behind bars at the barracks while report was being forwarded to the headquarters.
He noted that the culprit was being given medical attention due to the severity of the injuries he sustained during the mob attack, adding that he was not coherent enough to give full details of what transpired.
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