rider is currently in
police net after he
was alleged of
parading himself as a
soldier and extorting
money from members
of the public in the
guise of helping them
to get recruited into
the Nigerian Army.
The okada rider,
Adebisi Francis a.k.a.
No Time, was also
alleged of terrorising
residents of his
neighbourhood at Adegoke area of Challenge,
Ibadan, beating them so much that they became
afraid of being around him.
This, it was gathered, led to his being reported at 81
Battalion, Mokola, Ibadan, with the thought that his
bosses would curb his excesses, unknown to his
neighbours that he was not a military man. The
notion that he was a soldier was said to have been
created by the army uniform and other accessories
that he used to adorn himself with.
Crime Reports learnt that soldiers from 81 Battalion
stormed his house on June 13 and arrested him, with
items belonging to the Nigerian Army like uniforms,
knapsack, water bottle, etc., found in his room. He
was thereafter handed over to the State Criminal
Investigation Department of the Oyo State Police
Command for investigations.
However, the suspect denied the allegation, saying
that he was reported by one of his neighbours
because they were not on speaking terms. He also
revealed that he left Nigerian Army training ground
in Kaduna State in 2008 without a pass and went
away with the kits he was given, which he was still
using.
According to Francis, who said he was an Ondo state
indigene, "I have been in Ibadan for five years. I am
an okada rider. I ended my formal education at
SSS3. In 2008, I obtained a form to get recruited
into the Nigerian Army and I succeeded. I went for
training in Zaria, Kaduna State. After about five
months there, my colleague and I went to Basawa to
eat Masa. On our way back to the training ground,
we had an accident on okada. Since I could not meet
up again, coupled with the fact that we were not
given a pass before we left, I did not return to the
training ground.
"After I was discharged from hospital, I went to
Ondo State. When there was nothing for me to do, I
came to Ibadan and was staying in 2 Division. I
bought an okada and started working with it. I
applied for recruitment into the Nigerian Army in
2009 and 2010 but I did not succeed. I also tried the
police, same thing. My attempts were due to the fact
that I love professions with uniforms.
"The army uniforms found in my room were the kits
given to us while I was undergoing training. After
the accident, I converted the uniform to armless one
and started using it. I didn't know it was an offence."
He claimed that the man who went to report him did
so out of malice because they were not on speaking
terms. "I started living in the house in October, 2012
after civilians were asked to vacate 81 Battalion at
Mokola Barracks where I was staying. It was a
neighbour of mine who informed his brother who is
a Quarter Master in the army that he used to see me
wearing army uniform. That was why I was
arrested."
The suspect was also alleged of telling people that he
was well connected in the army, collecting money to
help them process a successful recruitment. He was
alleged to have collected N33,000 from one of those
who fell victim to his antics, saying that he would
connect him with a colonel.
The suspect admitted this, but said that his victim
was like his younger brother, saying that they went
to Akure together to sit for Nigerian Defence
Academy examination in Akure.
The Police Public relations Officer in Oyo State,
Olabisi Ilobanafor, confirmed the arrest, saying that
the suspect had been charged to court.
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