Na wa o ! New Formats everyday for Fraudsters
Five persons who claimed to be pastors are currently in the custody of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly operating an illegal military outfit.
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They were also accused of unlawful possession of Nigerian Army uniforms with badges of ranks.
The suspects include Bishop Macrran Ransome; Rev. Al-Hassan Emmanuel; Bishop Raymond Bakeh; Prophet Sunday Ofordu; and Robinson Igbarumah.
The command's Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, told journalists on Tuesday that the suspects were accused of running a military outfit known as Go Army.
Mba, a superintendent of police, said the suspects were arrested by the Military Police, Nigerian Army, Arakan Barracks, Lagos and were handed over to the command for further investigation and prosecution.
As at the time of their arrest, they were said to be wearing military uniforms with badges of ranks ranging from Lt.Col. to Maj.-Gen. and were in possession of identity cards bearing military ranks.
Ransome, who claimed to be the group's Commandant-General and goes by the rank of "Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel," told journalists that the outfit was established to provide service to humanity.
He said he lured others into the group with the claim that he had the backing of the Director of Chaplain Service (Protestant) of the Nigerian Army and that the group would afford them the opportunity to sharpen their pastoral skills.
He was allegedly using the auditorium of his church, The Apostolic Christian Chapel, Itire, Lagos, for military training for members every Saturday.
Other suspects, who spoke with journalists, confirmed that Ransome fooled them into joining the group.
They claimed that he had realised over N4m, especially from the over 50 members of the group that were made to part with between N70,000 and N80,000 for registration and kits.
They alleged that trouble started when they suspected that he was not saying the truth about the involvement of the military in the programme and they decided to approach the said Directorate to ascertain the true position of things.
Apart from being a clergyman, Igbarumah claimed to be a chartered accountant and the managing partner of an accounting firm, Robinson Igbarumah and Co.
