Female Soldier Cries out over Alleged Abuse by Senior Officers, Army Probes Allegations

Kingsley Nweze in Abuja

A female soldier identified as Ruth Ogunleye has cried out and accused some senior officers of the Nigerian Army of abuse and maltreatment.
Ogunleye claimed that some superiors, whom she identified as Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor, and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo made her life unbearable.
Reacting, the Nigerian Army promised to investigate the allegations of the female soldier.

Sharing her experience on TikTok via her handle @Ogunleyeruthsavage1, she claimed that Col. Abdulkareem had made repeated attempts to assault her.
Ogunleye also alleged that the senior officer administered injections against her will, forcefully ejected her from her residence, and kept her in a psychiatric hospital for several months.

She added that the officer has hindered her career advancement by denying her promotion courses because she allegedly rejected his advances.
Ogunleye said: “In 2022, I was posted to Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo, where I met Col IB Abdulkareem who requested sex from me and I refused. Ever since then, this man has been my nightmare in the Army, threatening to dismiss me each time.
“He comes to my room to inject me in my apartment; send some boys to my house. If I’m lying; I have all the evidence. I have evidence against him and I have witnesses.

“He also stigmatised me that I have a mental illness. Each time I try to expose him or each time any senior person or any senior officer tries to intervene, he will tell them I have a mental illness.
“He (froze) my account for one year. February last year till date, no salary.”
“Anytime he feels like he wants to embarrass me, he asks some soldiers to beat me. After beating me up, they will inject me. He will ask one Funke Ayeni, she is a female soldier, and he will ask her to set me up. She will set me up, inject me and they will go and throw me somewhere. At the end of the day, this Brig. Gen. IB Solebo and some of those senior colonels, they will come to that place, they will be videoing me,” she added.
She appealed to Nigerians for support.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has promised to investigate Ogunleye’s allegations.
In a statement, the Director of Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Nwachukwu Onyema said the investigation was to ascertain the extent of her claims.
But despite her claim that she had explored the laid-down official military channels to seek redress to no avail, Onyema still slammed her, claiming that she did not seek redress, according to the laid-down procedure.

The statement read: “The Nigerian Army has been inundated with audiovisuals making the rounds on social media of the unprofessional conduct of a female soldier in mufti who claimed to have been maltreated by some senior officers.
“It is instructive to state that, considering the gravity of the allegations, NA, as a disciplined force, will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
“It is crucial to point out that contrary to the claims made in the video, the soldier in question has not exhausted the laid-down procedure for seeking redress in the NA. This is aside from Human Rights and Gender Desks established in Army Headquarters and across NA formations, where complaints about human rights and gender issues are also entertained.

“The NA remains a professional force that self-regulates and conducts its activities in adherence to established rules and ethics while upholding the highest standards of discipline amongst personnel. We, therefore, encourage all personnel to always utilise the established channels for addressing grievances and concerns as a member of a noble and disciplined force.”

Onyema said that appropriate actions would be taken in line with the findings of the investigation.
“We assure the general public that the NA as an institution is committed to upholding the integrity and morals of its personnel and as such, appropriate actions will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.
“We urge the public to allow the investigative process to take its course.”