The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested a man identified as Precious Joseph for allegedly impersonating a police inspector and recovering several security uniforms and related items from his residence.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Timfon John, said the suspect was intercepted during a routine stop-and-search operation along Atiku Abubakar Way in Uyo on Sunday at about 2:30 p.m.

According to the police, Joseph, a native of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State who resides in Ikot Ekpene, was riding an unregistered motorcycle when he identified himself as a police inspector.

The statement said the suspect presented a police warrant card bearing the name “Inspector Daniel” when asked to verify his identity. However, inconsistencies in his responses prompted officers to conduct a more thorough search.

Police said the search uncovered another identity card belonging to the Nigerian Correctional Service, raising further suspicion that the suspect had been posing as a security operative.

Joseph later led investigators to his residence in Ikot Ekpene, where officers recovered a police beret, rank badges, police buttons and insignia, Police Mobile Force (PMF) uniforms, a military camouflage sweater, a lawyer’s wig, two pairs of desert boots and other security-related items suspected to have been used for impersonation and other unlawful activities.

The suspect is currently in police custody as investigators work to determine the source of the recovered items, identify possible accomplices and establish whether he is linked to other criminal offences within or outside Akwa Ibom State.

Commissioner of Police Baba Azare reaffirmed the command’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks that exploit the identities of security agencies to commit crimes. He also warned the public against unlawfully possessing or wearing security uniforms, insignia and identity cards, stressing that such offences attract severe legal consequences.