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By Christopher Oji
The Nigerian Army has handed over a fake soldier to the Lagos State Police Command for prosecution just as it rescued 18 underaged children from human traffickers.
The police command confirmed that it has received the fake soldier from the military. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundyin, who made the disclosure, said the fake soldier was parading himself as a military officer before he was arrested and taken to the military base for proper scrutiny, after which he was found to be a fake soldier and handed to the police for prosecution.
Hundeyin said, on Sunday, at about 1.50pm, a soldier attached to 243 Battalion, Nigerian Army, Ibereko Barracks, Lagos, went to the Badagry Police Division with a suspicious letter of transfer. He said the soldier reported that on the same day, at about 1.43am, the suspect simply identified as Silas, 25, was arrested at the Ikoga Zebbe area by troops of 243 Battalion deployed at Ikoga.
“The soldier stated that the suspect was dressed in Wooland Camouflage T-Shirt at the time of his arrest. The soldier further said the troops conducted a search in the suspect’s house and the following items were recovered: “A pair of Woodland camouflage uniform, one camouflage face cap, two camouflage t-shirts, one 81 Division shoulder badge and a camouflage three-quarter dress.”
In another development, Hundyin said the police rescued 18 children from human traffickers between January and March 2024.
Hundeyin said, on Tuesday, at about 12pm, “a source, whose name was not mentioned, who had been assisting the Ijora Badia Police Division to rescue the remaining children illegally trafficked to Lagos State, brought six children to the police as promised’’.
He said the children rescued (names withheld), were between ages 8 and 14. The image maker said the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Ayoola Olawale, immediately contacted CSP Alice Leramo, the Officer in Charge of Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Kwara Police Command. He said the Kwara police command had taken over the case of 12 children previously rescued from the suspect since January 29.
“She promised to dispatch the investigating team that came earlier to Lagos Police Command to take over the children, so as to enable Kwara command complete their investigation and reunite them with their parents.
“All together, 18 trafficked underage children from Kwara have been rescued in Lagos and handed over to the anti-trafficking unit of Kwara Command,” he said.
A suspected kingpin of child trafficking and labour syndicate was arrested on January 28, after three months of intelligence gathering by the police command. Hundeyin had earlier told Daily Sun that the syndicate usually brought underage children from the northern part of Nigeria to Lagos State, for child labour and other illegal activities against children.
He said on January 25, a 45-year-old leader of the syndicate, Alimot Haruna of Molete Village, Ilorin, (now in Kwara Police Command’s custody), “was arrested by detectives from the Ijora Badia Police Division in Lagos, who had monitored her movements.
“In the process, three underage children, two females and one male, whose names could not be ascertained, between ages seven and 12, of no fixed address, were rescued from her. During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect had illegally brought 42 children to Lagos State for child labour without the consent of their parents.
“It was also revealed that the suspect had been declared wanted by the Kwara State Police Command, in connection with many underage children that had disappeared, which was linked to her syndicate,” he said.
