A female civil defence corps official gave me uniform after I paid her N22,000 —Suspect

THE Oyo State Police Command has arrested a 37-year-old man, Peter Onoja, who was found dressed as an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, but was discovered to be an impersonator.

This was disclosed to Crime Reports by the Oyo State Police Public relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Superintendent of Police, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Mr Sam Adegbuyi.

According to the PPRO, the stop-and-search exercise embarked on by the state command as a proactive measure to prevent crime paid off on September 21 at about 5.30pm when operatives attached to the Swift Response Squad (SRS) intercepted a Ford bus driven by one Onoja who was escorting goods from Lagos to Ibadan dressed in civil defence uniform.

Ajisebutu stated further that when questioned, Onoja reportedly confessed to have got the civil defence kit from someone in Lagos. “We also saw an identity card with his picture while dressed as a civil defence officer. We are on the trail of the person who supplied him the kit with the hope of arresting the person,” he added.

In an interview with Crime Reports, the suspect confirmed that he was not a civil defence official but only got the uniform for a price from one of the corps’s serving officials.

According to the Benue State-born suspect, “I live at Ajegunle in Lagos State with my wife and two children. I was arrested when I came to Ibadan in my personal vehicle with some solar panel batteries. The police saw me wearing a T-shirt, cap and identity card of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and when I was questioned, they discovered that I was not a civil defence official.

“What happened was that a lady, Gloria, who works with the civil defence, gave me the items found on me. This was after I told her that the officials of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) used to disturb me a lot whenever I was with my vehicle, asking her to help me with a written note which I would give the officials.”

He added that Gloria, who he claimed was serving at the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, gave him the civil defence T-shirt and` cap to always put on whenever he needed it. “She said I should tell the officials I meet on the road that she was the one who gave them to me. I paid her N22,000 for the items.

“Since she gave the items to me, I have been using them within Lagos State; this is the first time I would be using it outside Lagos State. I have never used the uniform to extort money from anyone. I have my own vehicle; I only got the uniform to have easy passage on the road,” Onoja told Crime Reports.