Dismissed Soldier Arrested and Paraded for Alleged Robbery (Photo)

Okezie Chukwuebuka  (in the middle)

 

The Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr. Adeleye Oyebade, has paraded a fake soldier identified as Okezie Chukwuebuka for allegedly intimidating and robbing innocent people of their personal belonging in Umuahia, the capital of the state.

Oyebade said the suspect was arrested together with two of his accomplices; one Paul Nwadi and Gift Johnson, following a complaint by one Stephen Nwokoma, whom they reportedly robbed of his Gionee M2 mobile phone valued at  N28,000 on Uzuakoli road, Umuahia on June 11, 2016.

He disclosed that items recovered from the suspects were two pairs of Army camouflage, two Itel phones, a cash sum of N23,000 and signed bank cheque leaves.

Other items are one Peace Corps identity card, ATM cards belonging to different people, two wraps of weed suspected to be Indian hemp, one voter card and four passport photographs belonging to Nwadi.

Chukwuebuka confessed that he was dismissed from the Army in 2016, when he ran out of the battleground with other soldiers for lack of weapons.

He said, “I ran out from firing ground at Dama Local Government Area in Borno State with other soldiers because of lack of weapons. The Army dismissed us on November 16, 2016. The uniform I’m wearing now were the ones I had at home before I was dismissed.

“I have not been doing anything with the uniform; I just wear it to remember my days in the Army. I was arrested because I quarrelled with one of my friends and out of annoyance, I collected his phone from him by force.

“I had not been involved in any armed robbery operation before. These my two friends here don’t know that I was dismissed from the Army.”

For Johnson and Nwadi, their narratives were not different from the other as they both confessed to have met Chukwuebuka in Umuahia where they became friends.

Johnson said, “I met Chukwuebuka two weeks ago; he is my boyfriend. I’m not aware that he has been dismissed from the army, although I saw when he collected his friend’s phone. I begged him to return the phone, but he said he was angry with him”.

 Nwadi said, “I met Chukwuebuka in his Army uniform and because I like military men, I’m not aware that he was dismissed from Army.

“I have not been an accomplice to any crime he committed, but I saw when he was collecting the phone of the man that brought us to the police.

“I told him to leave the man’s phone for him but he refused, saying that he was angry with him. He collected the phone and when they were looking for him, they arrested me and asked me to provide him.”

The Abia State CP, however, said the suspects would be arraigned in court soon.