A female soldier has accused three senior officers of the Nigerian Army of alleged maltreatment following her refusal to give in to sexual advancement from one of them.
The female soldier, in a video on Tik Tok, alleged that the three senior officers subjected her to various degrees of dehumanisation, following her refusal to accept sexual overtures, allegedly from Colonel Abdulkareem.
The Nigerian Army however stated that it has commenced investigation into a claim by the young female soldier.
The military authority disclosed this in a press release dated 12 January, 2024 by the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu.
The female soldier (who did not disclosed her name in the video) pointed fingers at Colonels I. B. Abdulkareem, G. S. Ogor and Brigadier General I. B. Solebo as her nightmare in the Nigerian Army.
Determined to fight her cause, she said: “I know that, definitely, they will go for me. They will lock me up and they will dismiss me. I don’t care. I can’t endure again.
“Before coming out to make this video, I can’t endure again. I don’t want to die young.
“Definitely, they will come but before before they will dismiss me in this Army, anybody that calls for the order to dismiss me will not see peace; he or she will not see peace.”
The female soldier further said the aforementioned three senior army officers should be held responsible, should anything untoward happen to her.
“If anything should happen to me, please hold on Colonel I. B. Abdulkareem, Colonel G. S. Ogor and Brigadier General I. B. Solebo. Hold these three people responsible. They don’t want me to grow. They don’t want my progress.
“In 2022, I was posted to Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo where I met Colonel I. B. 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 each sees me.
“He inject (sic) me. He came to my room to inject me, my own apartment. He came there to inject me. He sent some boys to my house. If I am lying, I have all evidence against him and I have witnesses.
“He also stigmatised me that I have mental illness, each time I try to expose him. Each time any senior officer tries to intervene, he will tell them that I have mental illness.
“He even wrote to the DOA three good times to board me out. He freezed my [bank] account for the last one year. He freezed my account from February till date…no salary.
“I have cried to some senior officers. I wrote a petition, using Section 179 of the Armed Forces Act. I have seen so many senior officers to intervene. Anyone of them trying to intervene, he will them I have mental illness.
“There was a day he inject (sic). He locked me up. He almost raped me. When they caught him, he said I have mental illness. He took me to psychiatric hospital and he locked me up there for one good month, without any medication.”
She also accused Colonel Abdulkareem of denying her access to military courses, when it was apparent that her progression in the Army was dependent on course attendance.
The female soldier also said she has been denied access to her parents, accusing Abdulkareem of telling her father false story about her.
“There was a day I called my dad. My dad intervened. He was telling my dad to tell me to obey the last order. What is the last order? He wants me to sleep with him.
“He denied me everything. I can’t even obtain a pass to go and see my parents- no pass, no leave for me,” the female soldier said.
She described the three senior officers as her nightmare in the Army, declaring: “They have done everything to tarnish my image. I don’t know why the Army can promote such wicked and heartless people.
“I don’t know what I have done to them. I don’t know. I don’t know what I did. Till date, I haven’t collect salary. I can’t endure all these again. Let the worst happen, I don’t bloody care.”
Reacting, the Nigerian Army said it was aware of the audiovisual, describing as unprofessional the “conduct of a female soldier in mufti, who claimed to have been maltreated by some senior officers.”
The Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, also stated in the press release that the female soldier did not exhaust the laid down procedure to seek redress in the Nigerian Army.
“It is instructive to state that, considering the gravity of the allegations, Nigerian Army 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 Nigerian Army.
“This is aside Human Rights and Gender Desks established in Army Headquarters and across Nigerian Army formations, where complaints about human rights and gender issues are also entertained.
“The Nigerian Army 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.
‘We assure the general public that the Nigerian Army, 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,” he stated in the release.
Major General Nwachukwu urged the public to allow the investigative process to take its course and refrain from making hasty judgments, adding “The Nigerian Army remains dedicated to serving our nation with honour and integrity.”
