A
39-year-old retired soldier, alleged of always diverting his customers’ cars
and money, has been arrested.
The
suspect, Salisu Bello, was arrested by detectives attached to the Special Intelligence
Response Team (IRT).
Bello
is one of the soldiers that fought against Boko Haram members. He was retired
after he stepped on a landmine and sustained a severe injury.
Bello,
without mincing words, said that the police were not stating the case exactly
as it happened. He denied being a thief and explained that it was only twice he
breached his contract with his clients.
Explaining
his first contract breach, Bello said it happened after he was drugged and
robbed in Benin Republic. He wasn’t able to buy and deliver the car because his
client’s money, which he had on him, was taken by those that drugged him.
The
second occurrence leading to police tagging him a serial thief was after he
sold his customer’s Lexus Jeep. He said that he used the money from the sale of
the vehicle to settle his personal debts.
The
police said: “The suspect is in the habit of diverting cars, whenever he was
asked to deliver them to the owners. He has been arrested in the past for
diverting a car given to him at the Seme Border Lagos State. He was supposed to
deliver the car to its owner at Abuja. He sold the car and absconded. He
was eventually arrested and the vehicle recovered.
“We
received another report in April 2016 that Bello had absconded with a Toyota
Lexus Salon car belonging to a top monarch in South West, valued N5million.
Following the report, Bello was trailed to a remote village in Niger State,
where he was arrested.”
Bello
explained: “Last year, I ran into trouble. Someone gave me money to buy a car
for him. When I got to Benin Republic, I was drugged and the money
stolen. I called the police in that country to assist me track the people
that stole the money, but they couldn’t. When I returned to Nigeria, the person
who gave me the money got police to arrest me. We entered an agreement that I
would pay back.”
Further
narrating his story, Bello said: “I enlisted into the Nigerian Army in January
15, 1996. I retired in November 2012 after I sustained an injury in the operation
codenamed, ‘Operation Lafia Dole,’ in Borno State. I stepped on a landmine in
the forest and sustained serious injuries, which led to my quitting as a
soldier. After my retirement, I became a car dealer. I usually buy cars
from Benin Republic and sell in Nigeria. When I was given a Lexus Jeep to
deliver to the owner, I decided to sell it for N3million in Abuja. I used part
of the money to settle my debt. I went to Minna where I was eventually
arrested. I have told the police that if I was given a little time, I
would repay the owner of the Lexus Jeep.”
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