Fake Policeman Who Bought Police Walkie-Talkie For N2,000 Was Arrested In Ketu, Lagos.

For two years, 45-year-old Dele Oduwole had operated as a fake traffic policeman around Ketu area of Lagos.

His specialty: arresting traffic offenders and extorting money from them.

Oduwole, who ran out of luck recently, said he and an accomplice had arrested a motorist at Ketu and impounded his vehicle before a suspicious policeman challenged them about their identities.

The suspect said he preferred to operate with just a walkie-talkie rather than putting on a fake police uniform.

According to him, he lost his job at the Agboyi Local Government secretariat, Lagos where he worked as an enforcement officer in the traffic unit about two years ago.

The suspect said he didn’t go to the extent of acquiring a police uniform in order not to draw too much attention.

Oduwole said, “After losing my job at the Agboyi Local Government secretariat, I realised that I had become good at arresting traffic offenders. So, I simply continued my work by telling people that I was a policeman in mufti.

“I realised that people respect policemen when they are holding a walkie-talkie. A friend told me where I could get the radio cheaply and I went there. I bought the walkie-talkie for N2,000 at Oshodi.

“The walkie-talkie does not even work. I swear it has never worked since I bought it. But for the period I used it, people obeyed me anytime I stopped a vehicle for any traffic offence. “I was actually helping the government. For example, the man we arrested before we were arrested was actually making a call while driving. That is a crime.”

Oduwole claimed that he had not used his fake police identity to commit any other crimes. But the police have said investigations are ongoing to determine if he had been involved in more grievous crimes while parading himself as a policeman.