The Nigerian army has promised to probe allegations made by a female soldier on her superiors on harassment, constant abuse, and rape.
The female soldier, identified as Ogunleye Ruth, took to social media to expose alleged harassment and abuse by her superiors within the Army, specifically naming Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor, and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo.
Ruth, using her TikTok name @Ogunleyeruthsavage1, shared her ordeal, recounting instances of intimidation, threats, and even attempts of sexual assault.
Ruth specifically named her superiors, Colonel IB Abdulkareem, Colonel GS Ogor, and Brigadier General IB Solebo, as the individuals responsible for making her life a living hell in the army.
She accused Colonel Abdulkareem of repeatedly attempting to rape her, injecting her with unknown substances, evicting her from her accommodation, and even sending people to her house. She claimed to have evidence and witnesses to support her allegations.
Furthermore, Ruth stated that Colonel Abdulkareem stigmatized her by spreading false rumors that she had a mental illness.
She revealed that he went as far as locking her up in a psychiatric hospital for a month without any medication.
Ruth also claimed that her superiors denied her access to promotion courses, froze her bank account for a year, and hindered her progress in the army.
Expressing concern for her safety, Ruth called on Nigerians, human rights activists, and organizations to come to her aid, saying, “I know they will come for me, they will try to arrest me.”
She stated, “This was happen. 2022, I was supposed to head to Kantome Medical Center Ojo.
We are met kwa ni IB Abdukarim, who request sex for me and I refused. Ever since then this man has been my nightmare in the army. He threatened to dismiss me each time he sees me. He injects me, comes to my room to inject me, my own apartment, he comes to my room here to inject me. Send some boys to my house. If I’m lying, I have all the evidence. I have evidence against him and I have witnesses. Come to my house to inject me.”
“He also stigmatizes me that I have metanus. Each time I try to expose him. Or each time any senior officer tries to intervene, he will tell me that I have metanus. He even wrote to DOA to board me out. He wrote to DOA three good times to board me out of the army. He freezes my account for one year. He freeze my account in February last year till date no salary. I cried to some senior officers. I wrote a petition using section 6179 of the Armed Forces Act. I have sent so many senior officers, and junior officers to intervene. But none of them is giving me a listen here. Anyone who is trying to intervene will tell them I have mental illness.”
She claimed that her father had intervened, but Col. IB Abdulkareem allegedly instructed her father to tell her to “obey the last command,” which she asserted was a demand for sexual favors.
Narrating her experience, Ruth stated, “I can’t endure it again. I don’t want to die young. They will call me, but before anybody dismisses me, the person that called for the order, they will not see peace. He or she will not see peace, and if anything should happen to me, please hold Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor, and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo. These three people are responsible. They are the ones; they don’t want me to grow, they don’t want my progress.”
Ruth accused her superiors of various forms of mistreatment, including injecting her, spreading false information about her having mental illness, freezing her bank account, and denying her opportunities for advancement.
She also implicated a female officer Funke Ayeni as an accomplice in her maltreatment.
“Each time he (Col. IB Abdulkareem) felt like he wanted to embarrass me, he would ask some soldiers to beat me up. After beating me up, he would inject me. He would ask one officer Funke Ayeni, a female soldier to set me up. He would inject me and throw me inside somewhere. At the end of the day, this Brigadier General I.B. Shilepo and some of those senior colonels who were not promoted to Brigadier General, they would come to that place and video me. They would video me. So countless times like that,” Ruth alleges.
Army Response
In response, the Director of Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Nwachukwu Onyema, addressed the issue in a statement on Friday, expressing the Army’s commitment to conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.
He emphasized the importance of determining the extent of the claims made by the female soldier.
Onyema also criticized the soldier, stating that she did not follow the established procedure for seeking redress.
He mentioned the existence of Human Rights and Gender Desks at Army Headquarters and across formations, emphasizing that proper channels for addressing grievances were available.
The statement read, “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 Director assured the public that the Nigerian Army, as an institution, is dedicated to upholding the integrity and morals of its personnel. He pledged that appropriate actions would be taken based on 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.”
The statement urged the public to allow the investigative process to unfold and cautioned against making hasty judgments.
See Video Below
https://www.tiktok.com/@ogunleyeruthsavage1/video/7322242888283196678
https://www.tiktok.com/@ogunleyeruthsavage1/video/7322249284496264454
