A collage of photos of suspects arrested and recovered items.
By EZEKIEL OBI, Abuja –
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a fake soldier, identified as Hayatu Galadima, and his accomplice, Hamisu Adamu, while conveying drugs, ammunition, and communication equipment to bandits in Kaduna State.
According to a statement, the suspects were arrested on Friday last week by a patrol team of NDLEA officers along the Gwagwalada Expressway in Abuja.
Items recovered from them include 21 RLA 7.45mm ammunition concealed in a water bottle; 16 packs of new two-way radio (walkie talkie); four army coloured head masks; and a wallet containing an army ID.
Also recovered from the suspects were three mobile phones, seven Nigerian Army pass letters, five handbags, and a sack containing personal belongings, among other items.
While Galadima claimed to be a Lance Corporal serving in Ibadan, Oyo State, the suspected said they were taking the items to Kaduna and Kano.
But the NDLEA said a preliminary investigation indicated that the suspects may have contact with bandits in the North West and were possibly moving the ammunition and the two-way radios to bandits to aid their operations following the suspension of telecommunications services in parts of Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kaduna States.
In a bid to further investigate the matter, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa has directed the FCT Command of the Agency – which made the arrest – to transfer the suspects to authorities of the Nigerian Army and another intelligence agency, which had earlier placed the two men on its watch list.