Nigerian syndicate specialising in producing fake military identity cards, smashed

A Nigerian newspaper reported on Sunday that a Lagos based syndicate which specialises in the production of fake military identity cards has been smashed.

This is coming as security has been beefed up in the state to curb the incursion of terrorists. The Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Ikeja, Brig-Gen. Sanusi Nasiru Muazu, told journalists after the State Security Council meeting at the weekend that as part of the on-going efforts to stem crime and checkmate criminals the military has located a place where fake military identity cards are being produced.

He added that his men arrested those behind the syndicate and warned that those who still indulge in the practice should desist or be ready to face the law.

According to him, the military has not appointed anyone to produce its identity cards, warning that anyone caught in the act would be severely dealt with. He added, "We realize that majority of those parading themselves as soldiers in Lagos are not soldiers; they are impersonators. We want the public to note that anybody who impersonates a soldier is something that will not be tolerated by the Military".

Brig-Gen Muazu asked members of the public to be wary of impersonators. "The Military have their own mode of dressing. In the Army, we have dress code for everyday. On Monday we wear green, on Tuesday we wear what we call Number 7, On Wednesdays and Fridays, we wear green. Anybody on camouflage is either on duty or operation. Anybody who wears camouflage and is not on duty or operation is an impersonator."

He said all soldiers have been warned to cooperate fully with the Police especially at checkpoints where they are expected to identify themselves properly with a proper Military ID card.

The Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, Mr. Tunde Sobulo, who represented the State Commissioner of Police at the meeting, said the Council also examined the strategies being employed to fight crime in the state adding that with the support from the Military, crime, especially car snatching has gone down.

He revealed that car thieves have devised another means whereby they remove cars from where they are parked, and warned members of the public to be careful where and how they park their cars.

On some of the new strategies devised by the Council for crime fighting, Sobulo said aside from the Police-Military-OPMESA joint patrol, the Police has divided the Area Commands into zones so that there would always be two to three vehicles on patrol from one area command which, according to him, "means that there are four patrol vehicles from one division patrolling the whole four divisions".

"If there is a distress call in any of the divisions, the whole four vehicles move to the area immediately. This has reduced response time from under 30 minutes to barely 10 minutes", the Deputy Commissioner said.

There have been security concerns across Lagos in recent weeks. Last week there was a scare in Alausa, Ikeja the seat of government as there were fears that bombs have been planted at the secretariat. This led to the closure of some gates leading to the secretariat among which was the one leading to the deputy governor's office.