‘He requested sex from me’ — army begins probe as soldier accuses colonel of harassment

Ruth Ogunleye, a soldier, has accused three senior officers in the army of harassment, intimidation and threat to life.

In a video she published on TikTok, the soldier accused a colonel and two other senior officers of threatening her.

Ogunleye said her trouble started when she was posted to the Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo, Lagos, where she met the colonel.

The female soldier alleged that the colonel made sexual advances to her and she rejected him.

She claimed that the senior officer consequently threatened to dismiss her from the army, denied her promotion courses, and rejected her army pass request.

She also narrated how the colonel allegedly forcefully evicted her from her apartment and locked her up at a psychiatric hospital.

“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.”

Ogunleye added that anytime she tries to report Abdulkareem to senior officers, he always tells them 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,” she added.

“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.”

She added that when her father tried to intervene, the senior officer told him to ask her daughter to obey the “last order”.

“What is the last order? To sleep with me,” she said.

Ogunleye said she understands that the aftermath of her published video is her dismissal from the army, adding that she can no longer endure the treatment.

‘APPROPRIATE ACTIONS WILL BE TAKEN’

Reacting to the development, the Nigerian Army, in a post on X, said appropriate actions would be taken after concluding its investigation on the matter.

The army asked the public to refrain from making hasty judgments and allow the investigative process to take its course.

“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,” the army said.

“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.”

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.

We urge the public to allow the investigative… https://t.co/fBcteaEwBZ

— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) January 13, 2024