But he never reckoned that he would
be called upon, to be among soldiers that would go to Sambisa Forest, to fight
Boko Haram members.
When Isiaka was drafted to fight Boko
Haram insurgents, he bolted, abandoning his duty post and kissed goodbye to the
Nigerian Army.
Incidentally, Sambisa Forest used to
be one of the strongest enclaves of the Boko Haram insurgents, before the Nigerian
Troop, dared to brave the path where angels’ feared to trend.
It was in those hey days that Isiaka
was deployed to Sambisa Forest and rather than obey the last order as is the
norm in military circles, sneaked away with his tails between his legs and
never looked back.
Out of job and financially
handicapped, the Lance Corporal couldn’t think of any other way to raise money
than to take to crime like duck to water.
Attempting to explain why he deserted
the army, Isiaka said that he was tired of watching his friends and colleagues
die at the war front, in the hands of Boko Haram men.
He said: “I was not officially
dismissed from the Army. I decided not to go to work anymore when I was posted
to Sambisa Forest to tackle the Boko Haram sect. I was among Nigerian soldiers
that went to the Sudan Peace Keeping Mission. It was upon my return to Nigeria
that our commandant noticed that I was still agile and gallant. He then sent me
and some of my friends to Sambisa Forest. I lost most of my friend in that
battle. I then decided to leave the battle; I didn’t return to the army base
since then.”
After walking away, Isiaka didn’t
return property of the army. One of the items he went away with was his
uniform. He started using the uniform to commit crime. He was eventually
arrested along with his partner, an ex-convict, identified as Saheed Akangbe, 24.
Isiaka and his partner in crime were
presented to journalists by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abiodun
Odude. They were both arrested for allegedly snatching a Toyota Camry car.
Odude said that both men specialized in snatching different kinds of cars from
unsuspecting owners.
One of the cars allegedly recovered
from them is a Toyota Camry car, marked KJA
89 ER. They were arrested in Ibadan, on October 22, around 11:20pm, at Iyana-Offa,
Lagelu area of Ibadan. The duo allegedly confessed to series of car snatching
operations in Ogun, Lagos, Oyo, and other neighbouring states.
Asked what he had been doing since he walked out on the Nigerian Army, Isiaka said: “I usually lead my friends with army uniform to find buyers for our stolen cars. I was always well settled. It was my friend, Ismail Adeosun, who is still in Abeokuta Prison that asked us to bring that Toyota Camry car to Ibadan for sale. It was unfortunate that when we got to Ibadan later in the day, we couldn’t get the buyer before we were arrested."
Recollecting how they were arrested, Akangbe, said: " We were asked to come to Ibadan with the stolen car to deliver to a buyer; but on getting to Ibadan, we couldn’t locate the person that our friend asked us to call. It was late in the night; we decided to sleep inside the car till the following morning, unfortunately, while we were sleeping, a night guard walked over and asked us to come down from the vehicle. On sighting my partner with army uniform, he apologised and went away. He later returned with policemen.”
Odude said: “Isiaka and Akangbe had since confessed to the
crime and would soon be charged to court.”
Exhibits recovered from the suspects are a Toyota Camry car,
three cut-to-size guns, 20 live cartridges and an expended cartridge.
Odude, who said that he was
determined to rid Oyo State of criminals, disclosed that he has strengthened
security measure in the state. This action, he noted, would ensure that people
in the state, have a crime free environment, most especially in these ember
months.
He added: "This is the time some
criminally- minded persons will be looking for all means to carry out various
forms of crimes in order to raise money to spend during the Yuletides period; we’re
ready for them!"
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