The Police in Lagos State arrested two persons who hid under the pretext of being officers to extort money from the public for about 15 years.
Jumoke Mutairu, 45, and Uzoma Johnson, 29, were arrested on June 20 at the Alakara area of the state.
The police said the suspects were arrested wearing black T-shirts with police crest and logo and black berets with police insignia.
The Lagos State police commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, said the police are still searching for the alleged leader of the group who is currently at large.
According to the police, the suspects upon interrogation said they had been in the business for 15 years and were trained for six months by their alleged leader, identified as Johnson O. Oni, the founder of Chosen Ministry Church.
When paraded before journalists on Wednesday, Mrs Mutairu said she did not claim to be a police officer but a security agent in order to create awareness for people on issues relating to crime.
The woman said the uniform was provided for them by Mr Oni, who employed them.
Mrs Mutairu also said she had been doing the job for 15 years. When asked about her salary, she said, “we don’t collect salary, we only get commission on the materials we sell. We sell an outline which goes for ?1,200 and my commission is ?300 on each one.”
Johnson said he had only worked with the group for three weeks and that they go around in their uniforms as security personnel creating security-alert and selling their “outline.”
The police commissioner described the arrest as a breakthrough in policing, adding that stories of unprofessional police officers had been soiling the image of the Police.
