Nigerian female soldier exposes alleged abuse by senior officers

A Nigerian military female personnel named Ruth Ogunleye, has come forward with serious allegations against her superiors.

She claims that some superiors, whom she identified as Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor, and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo, have made her life unbearable.

Ogunleye holds Col. IB Abdulkareem particularly responsible for the difficulties she has faced in the Army.

Ogunleye, known as @Ogunleyeruthsavage1 on TikTok, recently shared her distressing experience on the platform.

She claimed that Abdulkareem had made repeated attempts to assault her, administered injections against her will, forcibly removed her from her residence, and confined 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.

She 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 evidence. I have evidence against him and I have witnesses.

“He also stigmatised me that I have 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 colonel, they will come to that place, they will be videoing me,” she added.

Ogunleye appealed to Nigerians for support.

She acknowledged the potential consequences of her actions, anticipating a possible arrest.

According to her, her father has tried to intervene with Col. IB Abdulkareem to bring her some peace.

She claimed the officer told her father  to relay the message to her to “Obey the last command.”

She said the “last order” was for the colonel to “sleep with me.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has promised to investigate Ogunleye’s allegations.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Nwachukwu Onyema said the investigation was to ascertain the extent of her claims.

Onyema also slammed the female soldier, adding that she did not seek redress according to the laid-down procedure.

“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,” he said.

“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 and refrain from making hasty judgments. The NA remains dedicated to serving our nation with honour and integrity,” he added.

This is the latest in reports of maltreatment by soldiers of the Nigerian army.

Inibehe Effiong, a public interest and human rights lawyer, recently filed a petition to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja.

Effiong requested that the Army personnel responsible for assaulting police officer ASP Edet Inyang be identified and held accountable for their actions.

According to him, Inyang was subjected to torture by a group of Army personnel near the Nigerian Army’s 63 Brigade in Asaba, Delta State.

The incident reportedly took place on December 9, 2023, at a store where the policeman had gone to buy personal items.

From PUNCH