Police arrest soldier over stolen jeep

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a serving soldier, Salami Joseph, who allegedly abandoned his duty post for robbery.

The 28-year-old man attached to Seven Division of the Nigerian Army in Borno State was arrested for his alleged involvement in the theft of a Lexus 330 jeep parked in front of a hotel in Lekki area of Ajah.

His arrest is sequel to a complaint from one Ajayi Adedotun, who claimed to be the owner of the stolen car.

The victim had alleged that he parked his car but it was stolen from where it was parked in front of a hotel.

The Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, who confirmed the incident, said that based on the complaint, operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), acting on a tipoff traced the suspect to his hideout in Ekpan area of Delta where he was arrested.

In his statement to the police, the soldier who said he abandoned his duty post in Borno State because of the fighting power of suspected members of Boko Haram, admitted that he and one Marshal now at large conspired and stole the vehicle from where it was parked.

The suspect said: “I was recruited into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps in 2014. Shortly after I joined I was posted to Maiduguri, Borno State to join in the fight against Boko Haram.

“As a young man the heat of the battle became too hot for me, so a waited for an opportunity. The opportunity came in September 2017 when I took four days pass from my unit commander to visit my parents in Lagos. Having spent six days instead of the four I was given, the army authority declared me a deserter.

“With this I underground knowing went that the army might come looking for me.

“I went into crime when I met one Marshal Tai, who happens to be half Nigerian and half Liberian. Marshal told me that, with my wealth of experience in the theatre of war we can make good money if we go into car snatching.

“So sometime in January 2018, we trailed the owner of the Lexus jeep to one hotel in Lekki. The owner of the car is known to Marshal. Immediately we removed the car from where it was parked we headed to Abuja where the car was sold for N800,000. Marshal was the one who contacted the buyer,” he said.