Police arrest Army‎ deserter, others for armed robbery

The Edo State Police Command has arrested a suspected deserter from the Nigerian Army identified as
Lance Corporal Adegoke, and two other persons for alleged armed robbery in Benin, the state capital.
It was gathered that Adegoke had served with the 29 Battalion in Portharcourt, Rivers State, but absconded from service, after he was deployed to Maiduguri to join in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents.
He was said to have abandoned his unit, taking with him his AK47 military rifle and uniform, which he used with a robbery gang.
He and his gang were said to have terrorised residents of Ikpoba Hill, Upper Mission and its environs, before they were rounded up by the police, following a tip off.
The suspect, who was paraded by the security agency was said to have confessed that he had spent only two weeks in Maiduguri before he fled in January, 2015 and pleaded for forgiveness.
‎Efforts to reach the Army Public Relations Officer of the 4 Brigade Command were unsuccessful.
But the police spokesman, DSP Stephen Onwochei, explained that since the suspect had deserted the Army, he would be treated as a civilian.
‎Onwochei said the suspects would be charged to court at the end of investigations.