The Nigerian Army, said it will investigate the alleged sexual harassment and maltreatment of Ruth Ogunleye, a female soldier by three senior officers.
Ogunleye, had in a video published on Tik Tok, accused a colonel and two other senior officers in the army of harassment, intimidation and threat to life.
According to her, her trouble started when she was posted to the Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo, Lagos, where she met the colonel.
She alleged that the colonel made sexual advances to her and she rejected him.
The female soldier further alleged that the senior officer threatened to dismiss her from the army, denied her promotion courses, and rejected her army pass request.
She also said the colonel forcefully evicted her from her apartment and locked her up at a psychiatric hospital.
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,” she said in the video.
“Ever since then, this man has been my nightmare in the army, threatening to dismiss me each time.
“He comes to my room to eject me from my apartment and send some boys to my house.
“If I’m lying, I have all the evidence. I have evidence against him, and I have witnesses.”
She said further that anytime she tries to report Abdulkareem to senior officers, he always tells them that she is battling mental illness.
She also claimed that she has not received a salary since February 2023.
“He also stigmatised me that I have a mental illness. Each time I try to expose him or any senior officer tries to intervene, he will tell them I have a mental illness.
“There was a day he locked me up and almost raped me. When they caught him, he said I had a mental illness.
“Anytime he feels like he wants to embarrass me, he asks some soldiers to beat me…”
The female soldier said she knows that the aftermath of her published video is her dismissal from the army, stating however she can no longer endure the treatment from the senior officer.
However, reacting, the army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, assured that the Nigerian Army as an institution, is committed to upholding the integrity and morals of its personnel.
He said appropriate actions will be taken at the end of investigations.
Nwachukwu said contrary to the claims made in the video, the female soldier in question did not explore all the laid down procedures for seeking redress in the army.
He urged all personnel to always utilize the established channels for addressing grievances and concerns as members of the noble and disciplined force. The army spokesman also urged the public to allow the investigative process to take its course and refrain from making hasty judgments.
According to him, aside the Human Rights and Gender Desks established in the Army Headquarters and army formations, where complaints about human rights and gender issues are also entertained, the 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 the personnel.
