A 25-year old man, James Nkanu, from Usumutong in the Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State, has been arrested in Calabar by the Nigerian Navy for posing as a naval officer and allegedly defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.
Parading the suspect at the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory in Calabar, on Saturday, the Commander, Commodore Julius Nwagu, said Nkanu was nabbed after the personnel of the NNS Victory intensified efforts to arrest him.
The suspected impersonator and racketeer, who was alleged to be extorting money from the public in the guise of being a naval personnel, was said to have been apprehended with a fake Nigerian Navy identity card and three Automated Teller Machine cards, among others.
Nwagu said, “Nkanu was arrested on Wednesday, January 23, at Eta Agbor, Calabar, by the men of the NNS Victory over an alleged case of impersonation.
“Aside being dressed in the naval camouflage, he was caught in possession of fake NN identity card, copies of naval recruitment forms and credentials of suspected victims as well as three different ATM cards belonging to him and two other suspected accomplices.
“He even claimed to be operating from the office of the Chief of Naval Staff in Calabar. Prior to his arrest, the suspect, an acclaimed final year student of the Cross River State University of Technology, was alleged to have paraded himself as a midshipman in the Nigerian Navy.
“Surprisingly, even his family members thought he was naval personnel on study leave. The suspect, during interrogation, voluntarily confessed to the alleged offences.”
Nwagu also stated that during preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the suspect procured a fake identity card from a business centre at Eta Agbor.
He added, “My men had to go after the operators of the business centre. Consequently, the computer set used for the production of the fake NN identity card was confiscated as an exhibit in support of the case against the suspect.
“The Nigerian Navy does not charge a dime in its recruitment exercise. Therefore, anybody demanding money so as to assist a person in naval recruitment is an impostor.”
The commander warned members of the public to be wary of fake military personnel, especially during the forthcoming general elections.
The suspect, who was later handed over to the police for prosecution, told journalists that he carried out the act in December 2018.
“It was only from one person that I collected N5,000 for late submission of the recruitment form. I just wanted to help people,” the suspect, Nkanu, said, when asked of how much he had made from victims of the fake navy recruitment.
Some of the victims, whose credentials were recovered from him, are Okogwu Loveth from Ebonyi State; Okpo Chimerie Chi, Ekpo Dien Ekpo-Obo and one Anthonia, who said she paid Nkanu N5,000.