TheCable

A man who identified himself as Hillary, has been arrested by the Nigerian Army for impersonating a naval officer.

In a now-viral clip first posted on January 21 by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication, Hillary adorned the full regalia or camouflage of a naval officer and was captured on camera being questioned by a couple of soldiers.

Upon determining that Hillary was a fake officer, the soldiers vowed to deal with him as he pleaded for mercy. 

Hillary has bought jobs @NigerianNavy @DefenceInfoNG pic.twitter.com/HLlyfYIuQX

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— Zagazola (@ZagazOlaMakama) January 21, 2024

Impersonating military or police personnel is commonplace in Nigeria. In 2023, the Lagos police command arrested three “fake soldiers” for the death of Adeniyi Sanni, an aide to Solomon Adeola, senator representing Ogun west.

Sanni was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint by soldiers in the Ikeja area of Lagos where he was questioned about his vehicle particulars.

He was later found dead with a gunshot wound at the Toyota bus stop in Oshodi. His principal, Adeola, had alleged that “a syndicate of soldiers” at the Ikeja cantonment was responsible for his death.

In June of the same year, the Lagos police command arraigned one Samuel Adeleke before an Ojo magistrate court for allegedly impersonating a military officer.

On January 11, 2024, another fake soldier identified as Muhammed Haladu, who paraded himself in military uniform to defraud members of the public, was nabbed in Nasarawa.