Security operatives arrested four impostors of the proscribed Nigerian Merchant Naval Corps at the office of the Chairman, Irepodun/ Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State, on Wednesday.
The Chairman, Shina Ogunleye, told newsmen in Ado Ekiti that the four men were nabbed by the Police and men of the Department of State Services (DSS) acting on a tip-off.
He said the gun-wielding “corps members’’ clad in Navy uniform, were rounded up at the headquarters of the council at Igede-Ekiti.
Ogunleye said he suspected that culprits were in his office to kidnap him.
Narrating his experience, the chairman said: “before they came to my office, they called and with the way they spoke, I suspected foul play.
“I informed security agents in the state who tutored me on what to do.
“When they called a second time, I gave them an appointment for 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
“When i was informed by my secretary that they had arrived, I immediately contacted Director of DSS in the state.
“I also contacted the Police Area Commander in charge of Ido/Osi and Irepodun Ifelodun Local Government Areas.
“I arrived at the office around 10 a.m. and as I was entering my office, they wanted to follow me.
“They were, however, prevented from gaining entry until the DSS and police operatives, numbering 20 men arrived at the scene.
“The security operatives asked them some pertinent questions, but they could not answer appropriately.
“It was then we realised that they were fake officers and that they came for a sinister mission.
“They have been arrested and taken to the police headquarters for further questioning.”
When contacted, the police spokesman in the state, ASP Sunday Abutu, said preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested men committed a case of impersonation.
Abutu said the suspects told the police that they were in Ekiti State to set up a base of their security outfit in Igede Ekiti, which he described as a breach of the law.
He said the Nigerian Merchant Naval Corps the suspects claimed to represent had long been disbanded by the Federal Government.
“They are being detained and they will be charged in court soon,’’ Abutu said. (NAN