(Police. Photo by Leadership News)
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested a fake police inspector identified as Precious Joseph over alleged impersonation.
A statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer in Uyo on Tuesday said the suspect, who hails from Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, was arrested by officers of the command on Sunday, July 5, 2026, at about 2:30pm along Atiku Abubakar Way, Uyo, the state capital.
According to the police spokesperson, items recovered from the suspect include a police beret, police buttons and insignia, inspector rank badges, PMF uniforms, and a military camouflage sweater.
Other items recovered included a lawyer’s wig, two pairs of desert boots, and other security-related accoutrements suspected to have been used for impersonation and other unlawful activities.
The statement explained that on the day in question, operatives of the command, while conducting a routine stop-and-search operation along Atiku Abubakar Way, intercepted a motorcyclist riding without a registration number.
The rider, later identified as Precious Joseph, an indigene of Nembe LGA in Bayelsa State who resides in Ikot Ekpene LGA in Akwa Ibom State, introduced himself as an Inspector of Police.
When asked to establish his identity, the suspect produced a police warrant card bearing a different name, and his conduct and responses raised suspicion among the operatives, prompting a more thorough search.
The search subsequently led to the recovery of another official identity card belonging to the Nigerian Correctional Service, further strengthening suspicion that the suspect had been fraudulently parading himself as a security operative.
In a follow-up operation, detectives proceeded with the suspect to his residence in Ikot Ekpene, where a search warrant was executed, leading to the recovery of the aforementioned items.
The suspect is currently in police custody and undergoing intensive interrogation as investigators work to determine the source of the recovered items, establish the full extent of his activities, identify possible accomplices, and ascertain whether he is linked to other criminal offences within or outside the state.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state has assured residents that the command would remain resolute in its commitment to identifying and dismantling criminal networks and individuals who exploit the identities of security agencies to perpetrate crimes, deceive unsuspecting members of the public, and bring the image of the nation’s security institutions into disrepute.
The command warned members of the public against purchasing, possessing, or unlawfully wearing security uniforms, insignia, identity cards, or other restricted accoutrements, stressing that such acts constitute serious criminal offences that will attract the full weight of the law.
