The authorities of the Nigerian Navy have disowned one Lawal Alli, who was involved in the hijack of a truck loaded with goods worth N20million.
The Director, Naval Information, Commodore Kabiru Aliyu, said in a statement on yesterday that the suspect, now in police custody, had never served in the Nigerian Navy.
The suspect had claimed that he was a naval officer who was conscripted into the Navy in 2006 and dismissed in 2010 for abandoning his duty post.
But Aliyu said the suspect had told his interrogators he was not a Naval personnel and actually got the Naval uniform with which he committed the crime from the Merchant Navy.
He said the Navy had since handed over the suspect to the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja Lagos.
He said the Naval authorities decided to conduct investigation into the issue following media reports that a Naval personnel was involved in hijacking the trucks carrying goods worth N20million.
He warmed that the Navy would arrest and prosecute anyone caught using its uniforms.
He advised members of the public to note the difference between Naval uniform and similar uniforms used by maritime agencies in the country.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.