‘My police uniform is to avoid paying bus fare’

A fake police corporal who was arrested along Ikeja under bridge, Lagos State, has said that he pretended to be a policeman because he wanted to claim ‘staff’ in commercial buses to avoid paying fare.

The conman, Godwin Akhenemen 33 was arrested on June 30, 2015.

Police source attached to X-Squad said: “When the fake Police corporal was arrested, he claimed he was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force in 2003. He however later changed his story. He said he was using the use to fool commercial drivers in Lagos.”

Akhenemen, a father of two, explained that it was frustration that pushed him into impersonating a policeman.

His words: “I was once a ‘Man O War’ some time last year. I got information from a friend that spy police were about to be recruited at the Ikeja Police College. Before I could get to the venue of the exercise, they were through. I left in anger. I was also sacked that day because of my lateness to office. When I didn’t make the spy police list, I travelled to my village in Saboginda Ora in Edo State. After spending about two months in the village, I explained my living condition in Lagos to my family. They contributed money and insisted I should use to set up a business.  Three days after I returned to Lagos, I got a security guard job at Ojodu Berger.  To avoid paying commercial drivers whenever I go out, I sewed the police uniform.”

Asked how he got the force number on his uniform, Akhenemen said: “I copied one of the spy policemen force numbers when I went for the exercise. I later started using it.” 

The Lagos State Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), DSP, Kenneth Nwosu who confirmed the story said the suspect would soon be charged to court.