A soldier, Sanni Mohammed, ferrying two boxes containing about 2,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, was arrested at Borno Express Park, Maiduguri, on Monday.
The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) officers who arrested him o board a vehicle heading for Abuja later handed hi over to the police.
The soldier, a lance corporal attached to 198 Special Forces Battalion, claimed he got an AWOL just been from duties at Damasak town in Borno State, after recently obtaining a sick report, Premium Times reported.
On the cache of ammo, Mohammed told the police he got it from a broken-down vehicle in his unit.
Other items found in his possession were a three-day excuse duty and two reports of hospital test.
But the army told the police that the soldier was not issued a pass or given medical leave to travel.
A military insider said the army is waiting on the police to hand over the soldier to it for a detailed investigation of the matter.
Neither the police nor the army has issued any official statement yet.