The Police authorities in Lagos State have arrested about 107 trainees and their ‘Commanding officers’ at the outlawed Merchant Navy camp in the Ogudu area of Lagos State.
Police Commissioner in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, disclosed this during a parade of the suspects on Wednesday.
Odumosu said the arrest was sequel to “credible actionable intelligence on the illegal activities of the Merchant Navy” which he said was outlawed by the Federal Government in 2017.
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He added that the training camp was raided around 11:00 am during which the ‘Commanding Officer’ identified as Sunday Dakare and 107 suspected trainees were arrested.
“During the operation which was coordinated by the Operations Department of the Command, several military accouterments were recovered. These included camouflage, badges of ranks, flag, signboard, ID cards.
“Other things included recruitment letters, promotion letters, portrait of the Commanding Officer, two motorcycles, one plasma television, three cutlasses, criminal charms, and other things,” Odumosu said.
The police boss told journalists that during interrogation, it was discovered that the Nigerian Merchant Navy also called the Coastal Defective Force has been operating illegally since 2005.
“Recall that the Nigerian Merchant Navy has since been outlawed by the Federal Government hence it is illegal for anyone to operate such a military outfit giving military training to unsuspecting young Nigerians,” he said.
The Commissioner added that; “this trend portends danger for our nation and a threat to peace and security. It, therefore, behooves on us as a law enforcement agency to enforce such law banning activities of the illegal military outfit.”
The arrested trainees some of whom were wearing Navy uniforms and military camouflage while being paraded by the police have been taken into custody and according to the police, they will be arraigned in court after completion of the investigation.
