Police seize 47 sacks of military uniforms in Lagos

The Lagos State Police Command has seized 47 sacks of military camouflage uniforms. They also found 80 cartons of items believed to be illegal drugs during a major operation in Surulere.

The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, spoke to journalists at the command headquarters in Ikeja on Tuesday. He revealed that three suspects were arrested in connection with this case.

The suspects are Chinedu David, 29; Ezeagwu Chukwuma, 38; and Ifeanyi Ogbeanyi, 45. They were arrested by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit on Saturday night.

According to Tijani, the suspects were caught with an unregistered MAN diesel truck. This truck was loaded with military camouflage uniforms and cartons of what the police suspect are illegal drugs.

He said, "Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command attached to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on intelligence-led operations, recorded a breakthrough with the arrest of three suspects identified as Chinedu David ‘m’, aged 29 years; Ezeagwu Chukwuma ‘m’, aged 38 years; and Ifeanyi Ogbeanyi ‘m’, aged 45 years.

"The operation further led to the recovery of one unregistered MAN diesel truck loaded with 47 sacks containing military camouflage uniforms and 80 cartons of drugs suspected to be illicit substances."

The Commissioner explained that early investigations showed the truck was meant to transport the uniforms to the South-East.

He added that the investigation is still ongoing to find out where the uniforms and drugs came from. He said, "Investigation is ongoing to determine the source, ownership, and intended recipients of the recovered items, as well as establish the extent of the suspects’ involvement and identify other persons connected with the criminal act."

On the recovery, the commissioner assured residents that this situation does not pose an immediate danger to them. He noted that the items were being moved out of Lagos.

“It does not pose any form of threat to Lagos State. They were moving out of the state, but you know, with the trend of events in the country where we have seen bandits wear military uniforms, who knows what they want to do with this? Nobody could tell,” he explained.

A police officer involved in the investigation, who wanted to remain anonymous, told PUNCH Metro that they first arrested the truck driver and his assistant. Later, they identified two more suspects connected to the case.

“We initially arrested the truck driver and the assistant. We later arrested two other suspects who visited our police station in Surulere to claim the exhibits,” the officer said.

This recovery comes amid rising concerns over military-grade uniforms being used by criminals across Nigeria.