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Police to Arraign 84 Oversecret Military Training


Daily Trust (Abuja)


NEWS
26 December 2007
Posted to the web 26 December 2007
Abuja

The police in Lagos yesterday said it would soon arraign 84 Merchant Navy
personnel, now in its custody, for allegedly undertaking military training
secretly, without approval.

A reliable police source at the Area 'A' Command at the Lion Building in Lagos,
who pleaded anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the suspects
would be moved to the State CID, Panti, Yaba, later yesterday, for proper
investigation and prosecution.



NAN learnt that the suspects, who are aged between 25 and 35, were reportedly
deceived into the training, on the assurance that they would be assisted to
secure jobs in some oil companies.

Most of them, according to the source, had to pay between N5,000 and N6,000
each before being admitted into the training.

"They were using these young men to commit all sorts of illegalities in the
streets of Lagos," he added.

The source, who described the suspects as militants, added that the premises
under which they

were allegedly operating was equally under investigation by the command.

According to him, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF) had earlier written a petition to the Command about three
months ago, requesting the recovery of the said property.

Items recovered when the property was raided included two mini-buses,
motorcycles and office equipment, belonging to the SGF's office and military
kits.

"About N25 million was said to have been discovered in the account of the
leader of the militants," the source added.

When contacted, the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Merchant
Navy, Mr Stock Isiramen, who confirmed the arrests, added that they had briefed
their lawyer on the issue.


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