The Lagos State Taskforce has arrested three men accused of impersonating officers of the Nigerian Navy in an alleged scheme to intimidate residents, defraud the public and obstruct government operations in Lagos.
The arrest was confirmed by the Taskforce Chairman, CSP Adetayo Akerele, after an enforcement exercise at Oworonshoki. According to him, the suspects tried to use fake military identities to scare residents, evade arrest and gain undue advantage during an ongoing demolition exercise.
Investigations revealed that the principal suspect, identified as Mr. James K. Robert—based on the name written on his uniform and in the Taskforce visitors’ register—had earlier visited the Taskforce headquarters, claiming to be a senior naval officer. He reportedly demanded the release of vehicles removed from the demolition site, insisting they belonged to his car lot located in the area.
Akerele explained that the suspect had ignored several official notices and appeals from government agencies to vacate the site before demolition began. He later returned to the Taskforce office with his wife and an alleged orderly, appealing for leniency and attempting to rely on what he described as “esprit de corps” among uniformed services to pressure officials.
When his request was rejected in line with due process, the suspect allegedly became aggressive, issuing threats and claiming there would be a clash between his supposed naval personnel and Taskforce officers if the vehicles were not released.
Suspicion deepened when the man failed to provide clear and verifiable details about his naval posting, service history or command structure. Further checks revealed obvious inconsistencies in his uniform, including wrongly arranged service ribbons and missing regimental insignia—details that did not match the standards of a senior naval officer.
Following this, the Taskforce contacted the Naval Police for verification. The Naval Police confirmed that the suspect was not a serving officer of the Nigerian Navy and was unknown within its command structure, leading to his immediate arrest along with two accomplices.
Akerele also disclosed that the suspects had been under discreet surveillance due to repeated confrontations with Taskforce officials and complaints from residents about a man posing as a naval captain to intimidate people and disrupt enforcement activities.
During interrogation, the suspect’s wife reportedly admitted she had earlier warned him against impersonating military personnel, fearing it could end badly. The Taskforce chairman added that some accomplices attempted to quietly leave the scene shortly before the arrest, raising further suspicion.
“Before they realised what was happening, officers of the Nigerian Navy Military Police were already on ground and took them into custody. They are currently undergoing further investigation,” Akerele said.
