Kidnap of ex-soldier who allegedly impersonated I-G’s brother disrupts trial

The trial of an ex-soldier, Mohammed Sani, accused of presenting himself as a younger brother of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, was disrupted on Tuesday following his alleged kidnap.
Sani, 42, was on February 22 charged before an Ogudu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on a one-count charge of false representation.
The accused of 51, Akinremi St., Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, had pleaded not guilty.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, counsel to the accused, Darlington Agbale, told the court that he “must have been kidnapped on his way to the court this morning (Tuesday).”
Agbale said that Sani informed him that he noticed three men trailing him on his way to the court.
“After a few minutes, efforts to reach the accused proved abortive,” he added.
The Magistrate, Oluwadamilola Olanipekun, who expressed displeasure, asked the counsel why the accused was not kidnapped before the trial date.
Thereafter, she issued a bench warrant against the sureties and adjourned the case till June 3.
The prosecutor, Corporal Donjor Perezi, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on February 16, between 2pm and 6pm at the Mile 12 Market, Aguda, Lagos.
Perezi explained that Sani, who claimed to have retired from the Nigerian Army in 2009, usually introduced himself to the public as a younger brother of the Inspector General of Police.
He said that the accused personated as the I-G’s brother with the intention of defrauding unsuspecting members of the public and getting favours from law-enforcement agencies.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 378 of the Criminal Code, Law of Lagos State, 2011.