Lagos Police nab 4 for selling Police Uniforms

The Lagos state police command has four people currently under interrogation at the X-Squad after they were arrested for illegally manufacturing police uniforms and kits and selling them to civilians.

The nefarious act was reportedly going on inside the police college of all places. The items include police boots, belts, badges, ranks, shirts, trousers, force numbers, cardigans and caps.

Accodding to Guardian reports, the Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, swung into action, having received intelligence on the operation of this syndicate in the police environment.

According to a police source, concerned citizens in the Police College had written a petition to the Inspector General of Police, that suspected criminals were coming to buy police uniforms and other paraphernalia in an open market.

Following a recommendation by a panel of inquiry set up by IGP Idris Ibrahim, the Lagos Command chief, Fatai Owoseni, ordered the officer-in-charge of X-Squad, CSP Bode to take over the investigation.

“We went to the shops and discovered that truly people were selling police uniform and kits and people believed to be civilians were coming to buy them,” a police detective revealed.

“We had to arrest the people in the shops and seized 11 bags of police uniforms and kits such as belts, identify cards, emblems, boots, socks among others.”

Lagos state police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, confirmed arrests of suspects and assured that the suspects will be charged to court today on two-count of conspiracy and unlawful possession and sales of police kits according to Section 328, Sub section A, B, C, D of Lagos State 2011.

While the importance of such a discovery and arrest cannot be overemphasized, one can only speculate as to how long such a dastardly business has been going on undetected under the nose of the police itself and whether the suspects arrested are police officers.