The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a fake Assistant Superintendent of Police, Abdulrasak Sani.
The 32-year-old was alleged to have forged the police letterheads, identity card and recruitment forms, which he gave to members of the public.
The suspect, who claimed to be attached to the Office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, was also issuing out permits to tankers conveying petroleum products from Port Harcourt, Rivers State to Lagos.
He was said to have escorted a truck to a filling station in Lagos when he was arrested by the police.
It was learnt that Sani was formerly a constable, but was dismissed in 2006 after engaging in illegal oil bunkering.
The suspect told PUNCH Metro on Tuesday at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters, Ikeja, that his friend in the police assisted him to produce the fake documents after he could not get another job for 10 years.
He said, “I was formerly a constable, but the authorities dismissed me in 2006 after I was involved in illegal oil bunkering. Since that time, I had been out of job and my mother had been the one feeding me and my three children.
“When I could no longer bear it, I contacted my friend, Sergeant Adamu Hassan, who is attached to the Trinity Police Division, Apapa. He was the one that produced the ID card, recruitment forms and letterheads. I started using them to make money.
“I am based in Eleme, Port Harcourt. My clients, who already have my phone number, usually call me for business. I collect N60,000 to escort a tanker from Port Harcourt to Lagos. When I get to Lagos, I meet with my friend, Hassan. I have paid him a total of N150,000 for his efforts.
“I have done this business for one month and escorted six trucks.”
The suspect, who said he was arrested while escorting another truck to Lagos, said the police got wind of his activities and sent operatives to waylay him.
He said he regretted his actions and begged for forgiveness.
The police also paraded a Kogi State indigene, Nathaniel Benjamin, for illicit use of police uniform without being a member of the Force.
Nathaniel was alleged to have taken over his late younger brother police uniform and was using same to get free ride in public buses.
But the suspect told PUNCH Metro he had not done anything wrong, insisting that he only used the uniform for free transport while looking for employment.
He said, “My brother, Samuel, who died in a motor accident, owned the uniform. He was a constable in Niger State before his untimely death. When I lost my job as a bank security guard in January and I didn’t get another job for two months, I decided to start wearing the uniform.
“I was only using it for free transport. When the police accosted me for using the uniform, I told them I had not committed any crime. I didn’t run away. I am not a criminal.”
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Fatai Owoseni, advised members of the public to be wary of impersonators, adding that the command would go after people who gave the Force a bad name.
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