I impersonated IG’s brother to gain respect’

Sanni Mohammed
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The police in Lagos have arrested a man for impersonating the brother of the Inspector -General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.

 

The police also accused the suspect, Sanni Mohammed, of defrauding unsuspecting members of the public with his feigned identity.

 

The suspect however denied the accusations, saying he only impersonated the IG’s brother but did not dupe anyone.

 

He said, “I never collected money from anybody through impersonation. I only impersonated the IG’s brother to gain respect.”

 

The suspect, who was paraded before journalists on Tuesday, expressed anger at being placed before journalists; he said he was not going to speak with them.

“We used to deal with journalists like you all at the barracks. But because I’m now a civilian you’re talking to me like this”, he said.

 

Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, said the suspect, who usually operated in Ketu, was able to successfully impersonate the younger brother of the IG because they share the same name.

 

She said the suspect was arrested, after the IG’s younger brother heard about his antics and alerted policemen.

 

Narrating how he was arrested, Braide said, “The fake Sanni was arrested by policemen attached to Ketu Division. He was impersonating the younger brother of the IG. Incidentally, the two of them bear the same name.

 

“The suspect’s name is Sanni Mohammed, while the real one is Sanni Abubakar. The fake one is from Kebbi, the real one from Zamfara. They’re not related at all. We learnt that he had used this gimmick to defraud a lot of people.

 

“He would promise them that as the IG’s brother, he would talk to his brother about their case in order to help them. Under this guise he had duped a lot of people.

 

“On Wednesday he would be charged to court for impersonation. He had been doing this for over a year. In fact, since Mohammed Abubakar became the IG.”