A 22-year-old man, arrested for allegedly impersonating an army captain, was paraded in front of journalists at a media briefing on Tuesday, May 18.

Abdullahi Ibrahim, commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Borno State, told the journalists: “The fake army captain, Abubakar Mohammed, was arrested in uniform by a patrol team on Damboa Road in Maiduguri. He was impersonating an army captain.”

He said Abubakar Mohammed was one of 13 suspects − all of whom were paraded in front of the journalists at the briefing – who were arrested for various crimes in Maiduguri, including burglary, phone snatching, violation of curfew hours and syphoning petroleum products.

He said Abubakar Mohammed was arrested with Garba Audu who claimed to be a member of the civilian joint task force.

Abdullahi Ibrahim decried the growing incidents of offenders using military uniforms to commit crime and he cautioned residents on the need to be alert.

Ibrahim Mohammed, a bus driver who was also paraded at the briefing, had been arrested for trying to transport a large quantity of petrol to an unknown destination.

Fantami Bukar, the owner of Fantami Sachet Water Company, was arrested for using the brand name of another company.

Abdullahi Ibrahim said: “We want to assure citizens of Borno State that we will not rest on our laurels and we will see to it that criminals are punished and put behind bars. We will continue to partner with other agencies to reduce crime rates.”

In an interview, Abubakar Mohammed confessed to the crime, claiming that the uniform he was wearing at the time of his arrest belonged to his brother who works for the military. He said he took the uniform without his brother’s knowledge.

Abdullahi Ibrahim said that between January and May this year, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps Command and other security forces had arrested suspects carrying 21 jerricans laden with petrol. They had also found more than 60 empty jerricans, which they believed would have been used to syphon petrol, one rickety bus and 15kg of leather that would probably have been used to produce sachets for water.

Abdullahi Ibrahim confirmed that the 10pm to 6am curfew in Maiduguri and environs ─ imposed after extremist attacks during Ramadan ─ would remain in place.

Maina Muhammad, a point of sale (POS) operator in Maiduguri, said he was pleased with the measures put in place by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps in Maiduguri to apprehend suspected criminals who were openly stealing from POS operators in broad daylight and at night.

He said many of his friends in the Gidan Madara and Damboa Road shopping areas had been burgled or robbed and victimised by thieves and robbers, despite the security measures that had been put in place by authorities.

Another POS operator, Malum Bukar, who lives in Bakassi, a camp for internally displaced persons in Maiduguri, said that he had been robbed a short while ago.

“They came in their car, showed me a gun and threatened to kill me. I had no choice than to allow them to take my money. I was helpless,” he said, adding that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps and other security forces should declare war on criminals in the state, especially those who robbed POS operators and people at cash points at night in Maiduguri.