Connect with us

News

Nigerian Army Reacts after female soldier accused senior officers of threat to life and seizing her salary after rejecting their sexual advances

The Nigerian Army has vowed to carry out an investigation after a female soldier serving in Lagos State, claimed some senior officers are allegedly after her life and have been oppressing her for rejecting their sexual advances.

In a video that has gone viral, the female soldier who did not give her name, lamented how the senior Army officers who she identified as Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo have been oppressing her since she was posted to Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo, Lagos in 2022, for refusing their sexual advances.

According to her, she has been locked up several times for no reason, ejected from her apartment, locked up in a psychiatric hospital for a month without any medication with a claim that she has mental illness and her account frozen since February 2023 without salary for no reason.

She further alleged that Col. Abdulkareem had made some attempts to sexually assault her but when he was found out, he claimed that she had mental illness, adding that she had made several efforts including writing a petition and getting some senior and junior officers to intervene but to no avail.

She also said that Col. Abdulkareem had denied her access to military courses, and that when her father contacted ColAbdulkareem over her issues, he (Abdulkareem) told her father to ask her to obey the last order.

“I know definitely they will come for me. They will lock me up and they will dismiss me but 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. If anything should happen to me, please hold Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo responsible, because they don’t want me to grow. They don’t want my progress.

This is what happened. In 2022, I was posted to Cantonment Medical Center, 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. He threatened to dismiss me each time he sees me.

He ejected me from my room, sent some boys to my house. I have all the evidence and I have witness. He came to my house to eject me.

Each time I try to expose him or each time any senior officer tries to intervene, he also stigmatizes me, that I have mental illness. He would always tell them that I have mental illness.

He wrote to DOA three times to board me out of the Army. He froze my account for one year. He froze my account since February last year (2023) 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 officers, senior officers, junior officers to intervene but none of them is giving me a listening ear. Any time anyone tries to intervene, he will tell them that I have mental illness.

There was a day he locked me, he almost raped me and when they caught him, he said I have mental illness and he took me to a psychiatric hospital and locked me up there for one month without any medication.

He has denied me access to military courses, meanwhile, they know very well that my progression in the army is determined by my course attendance. No course. I have been given admission in a medical school but he refused to release me.

There was a day I called my dad and my dad intervened but he told my dad to tell me to obey the last order. What is the last order? For him to sleep with me? He has denied me everything. I can’t even go on passes to see my parents. No pass, no leave for me. But please and please, if anything should happen to me, hold them responsible, especially Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. GS Ogor and Brig. Gen. IB Solebo. They are my nightmare in the Army.

They have done everything to tarnish my image because they are all course mates. I don’t know what I have done to them. Till today I haven’t collected salary. I can’t endure this again. Let the worst happen.”

The army in a release by Major-General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director Army Public Relations, on Friday January 12, said the female soldier had yet to inform relevant bodies and institutions about her predicament before releasing a video.

“The Nigerian Army (NA) 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.

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 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 NA 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 utilize the established channels for addressing grievances and concerns as a member of a noble and disciplined force.”

He assured Nigerians 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.

“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 honor and integrity.”

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

2,363 Ghost Workers Uncovered by Zamfara Govt

The Zamfara State Government said it had uncovered 2,363 ghost workers following the verification of civil and public servants in the state.

Governor Dauda Lawal constituted a committee headed by the state Head of Service in August 2024 with the mandate to conduct the verification exercise of state workers.

A statement by the governor’s spokesman, Sulaiman Idris, revealed that the verification process exposed 220 minors receiving monthly pay as civil servants.

The statement noted that the verification exercise was necessary due to the state government’s efforts to implement the N70,000 minimum wage.

Idris said, “The committee’s final report submitted to Governor Dauda Lawal highlighted that 27,109 permanent workers were cleared while workers with questionable employment include 2,363 ghost workers, 1082 civil servants who are due for retirement, 395 contract staff, 261 not on the nominal roll, 213 on study leave, 220 minors in employment, and 67 workers on secondment.

“The report highlighted that 75 workers’ first appointment dates were not in compliance with the issue dates, and all of them were minors at the time of employment.

“During the verification, 2,363 ghost workers were exposed. They were paid a total of N193,642,097.19 every month.

“1082 workers are due for retirement, and they collect a total sum of N80,542,298.26 monthly. At the same time, five workers found to be on secondment were paid monthly N354,927.60.

“The verification committee recommended suspending 207 workers who were not cleared. They are paid a total salary of N16,370,645.90 monthly.

“The committee found 12 workers on the payroll but not in the database and collected a monthly salary of N726,594.

“These verification exercises are ongoing efforts to monitor the Zamfara workforce and ensure transparency and accountability in service, especially as the minimum wage payments begin in March of this year.”

Continue Reading

News

Court adjourns Ganduje’s bribery case to April 15

A Kano State High Court has fixed April 15, 2025, for the hearing of all pending preliminary objections in the case of alleged bribery and misappropriation involving the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and six others.

The Kano State Government instituted an eight-count charge against the defendants, accusing them of bribery, misappropriation, and the diversion of public funds amounting to billions of naira.

The other defendants in the case include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.

Court Proceedings
When the case came up for the hearing of pending applications on Thursday, the prosecution counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, told the court that he was ready to proceed.

“My Lord, we have filed a motion on notice, dated February 2 and served on February 5, seeking an extension of time to enable us to regularize our preliminary objection,” Adedipe said.

Counsel for Ganduje, his wife, and Umar, Mrs. Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, also indicated readiness to proceed with their defense.

However, some defense counsels requested more time to regularize their legal processes. Counsel for the 3rd and 7th defendants, Adekunle Taiye-Falola, said, “My Lord, we filed our application for an extension of time, dated December 12, 2024, to reply to our further and better affidavit on points of law. We need to regularize our processes.”

Similarly, counsel for the 5th defendant, Sunusi Musa, SAN, moved a motion on notice for an extension of time, dated and filed January 7, 2025. “Our motion is supported by a 10-paragraph affidavit and a written address. We urge the court to grant the application,” Musa stated.

While counsel for the 6th respondent, Abubakar Ahmed, informed the court that he had filed a preliminary objection dated September 9 and was ready to proceed, counsel for the 8th defendant, Ibrahim Aliyu-Nasarawa, requested additional time.

“My Lord, I am not ready to move my application. I intend to file and reply on points of law,” Aliyu-Nasarawa told the court.

Court’s Decision
After listening to the submissions, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, granted all the applications for an extension of time and adjourned the matter until April 15, 2025.

“The case is hereby adjourned to April 15, 2025, for the hearing of all pending preliminary objections,” Justice Adamu-Aliyu ruled.

The case, which has drawn significant public attention, is expected to proceed with the hearing of objections before moving to the substantive trial.(Channels)

Continue Reading

News

FG committed to reducing food prices through Agricultural Investments – Minister

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to lowering the cost of food commodities through massive investments in agricultural production.

Idris stated this in Abuja on Tuesday at a press briefing to kick-start the Ministerial Briefing Session for 2025.

He emphasized that while the government will not impose price controls on food commodities, in line with the principles of a free-market economy, it remains focused on reducing prices by boosting agricultural production and increasing supply.

“In the past, we used to have these commodity boards where prices were fixed but in the spirit of free market and encouraging entrepreneurship, especially within the agricultural value chain, government didn’t feel that it was necessary for them to begin to control prices. Now, what government is doing is to ensure that there is massive production of food items and it’s a supply and demand issue. Once you have whatever you need in abundance, the tendency is that the price will automatically come down,” he said.

While speaking on the successes in the security sector, Idris said in 2024, the security forces neutralized more than 8,000 terrorists and bandits, and arrested 11,600 others, with more than 10,000 weapons recovered.

He stated that with the government’s sustained efforts against terrorists and bandits, the nation’s highways are becoming increasingly safer.

“While we still have a lot of work ahead, our highways have grown safer. The hitherto notorious Abuja-Kaduna highway is one example. As I said, there’s still much more to be done, and we will not relent in our effort.

“Additionally, about 8,000 kidnap victims were successfully rescued. We will continue to work to drive down the number of victims while scaling up our success stories in terms of deterrence, crime-solving, and prosecutions,” he said.

The Minister added that, following their designation as a terrorist organization by a Federal High Court, security forces are now empowered to apply maximum force against the Lakurawa armed group.

On the economy, Idris stated that the Federal Government’s reforms are delivering significant results across key sectors, particularly with the removal of fuel subsidy, which has successfully plugged leakages amounting to hundreds of billions of Naira annually.

He said the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) in December 2023 has enhanced transparency in foreign exchange transactions and facilitated the clearance of billions of dollars in backlogs, and restored investor confidence to the country.

“Last week, the Naira reached an eight-month high in the official market, while foreign capital inflow into the Nigerian Stock Exchange rose from 4% in mid-2023 to an average of 16% by the end of 2024,” he said.

Additionally, he said, in 2024, Nigeria emerged as the most attractive destination for oil and gas investments in Africa, securing over $5 billion in Final Investment Decisions (FIDs).

The Minister described 2025 as a year of consolidation, building on the progress made in the first 19 months of the Tinubu administration as it approaches its mid-term.

“Over the next three months, as we approach the second anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration, we will bring Honorable Ministers to this platform, on a weekly basis.

“This year 2025 is a year of consolidation, a year for building on the gains we have seen in the first 19 months of the administration. This maiden edition for 2025 is an opportunity to remind us of these gains, and to set the context in which these gains are being recorded, as we proceed into the mid-point of this administration,” he said.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending