Four soldiers, police arrested for undermining Boko Haram war

Detectives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos State Police Command have started investigating four soldiers and two policemen for conniving with suspected armed robbers to undermine the war against Boko Haram.

According to sources, the four soldiers are part of the Nigerian Troop fighting the Boko Haram insurgents.

The soldiers allegedly teamed up with the two policemen to sell ammunition to armed robbers. The policemen are said to be mobile. The ammunition are meant for war against Boko Haram insurgents.

The two mobile policemen are sergeants, while two among the soldiers are also sergeants. The third soldier is a lance corporal and the fourth, a corporal.

The secret lives of the six suspects were let out of the bag after SARS operatives arrested some suspected armed robbers.

The suspects were said to have squealed, leading to the arrest of the security agents.

One of the suspected armed robbers, during interrogation, told SARS detectives that the gang usually buys its ammunition from soldiers and mobile policemen.

Determined to carry out a thorough investigation, the SARS men told one of the suspects to use his phone to call one of the mobile policemen. The suspect’s confiscated phone was handed over to him; he made the damming call.

Immediately the phone rang, the mobile policeman picked and started chatting with the suspect like a long standing friend. The suspect soon asked for ammunition and the mobile policeman asked him, “How many packs?”

The suspect responded, six.  The suspect and mobile policeman agreed to meet somewhere for the exchange of ammunition and money. When the mobile policeman was going to the venue, he went with his partner, another mobile policeman. They walked into the waiting arms of the SARS men.

Under the heat of interrogation, the policemen said they were not the only people selling ammunition to the gang. This confession led to the arrest of the four soldiers.

Trying to extricate themselves from the tightening noose around their necks, the soldiers said the ammunition were extras they got while fighting Boko Haram insurgents.

A source said: “They said that most times, when they want to go to the war front, they would book for ammunition. Even though the first batch of ammunition has not finished, they would come back to book for more. They confessed to have been stockpiling the ammunition. This is what they are now selling to armed robbers.”