Two former soldiers of the Nigerian Army have been arrested after they ran away from the war against Boko Haram to form an armed robbery gang.
The suspects, Kehinde Elijah and Ezeh Joseph told the police that they ran away from the army because they were posted to Maiduguri, Borno State, to wage war against the Boko Haram insurgents.
In their confessional statements at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, where they are being detained, the suspects reportedly said, “We ran away from our units in Maiduguri for fear of being killed. We were in the army and posted to Maiduguri from Lagos. We didn’t know each other in Maiduguri.
“We met at an Indian hemp smoking joint at the Ojo Cantonment area in Lagos and we formed our gang when we discovered we had the same problem.”
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, disclosed that two suspects had been on the police wanted list over the death of a policeman attached to Ilemba Hausa Division.
He said Elijah was arrested at Okokomaiko bus stop, Ojo, in Lagos, while Joseph was arrested at his house at Imude Pako, Ajangbadi, Ojo, a Lagos suburb.
Speaking further on the matter, Elkana said, “Kehinde claimed that he deserted the military in 2015 when he was deployed to the North East to fight insurgency.
“He is among three suspects on police wanted list for violent crimes. Four pairs of military fatigues were recovered from his house.
“Ezeh, on his part, claimed to have deserted the military while undergoing basic military training.
“Investigation led to the arrest of the two suspects.
“The first suspect had been to the station earlier to solicit the release of his motorcycle, which the police had impounded for violating the ban on the use of commercial motorcycles.”
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