A Nigerian military female personnel, Ruth Ogunleye, has stepped forward with serious allegations of abuse against her senior officers. Ogunleye, known as @Ogunleyeruthsavage1 on TikTok, accused Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor, and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo of making her life unbearable within the Army.
Ogunleye claimed that Col. IB Abdulkareem, in particular, had repeatedly attempted 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 asserted that Abdulkareem hindered her career advancement by denying her promotion courses after she allegedly rejected his advances.
Taking to TikTok to share her distressing experience, Ogunleye explained, “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.
Seeking support from Nigerians, Ogunleye acknowledged potential consequences, anticipating possible arrest.
She revealed that her father attempted to intervene with Col. IB Abdulkareem, who allegedly conveyed the message to 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.”
The Nigerian Army responded, promising 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 articulated, “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.
Onyema also criticized Ogunleye for not following the laid-down procedure to seek redress. He urged the public to allow the investigative process to unfold and refrain from making hasty judgments.
This incident follows recent reports of maltreatment by soldiers in the Nigerian army.
Public interest and human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, submitted a petition to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, seeking accountability for Army personnel responsible for assaulting police officer ASP Edet Inyang in Asaba, Delta State, on December 9, 2023.