A former female soldier, Private Ruth Ogunleye, who was discharged from service after accusing a senior officer, Colonel I.B. Abdulkareem, of sexual harassment, has appealed to the Nigerian Army to publish the outcome of its investigation into the matter.
In January, Ogunleye accused three senior officers, including Ishiaku Abdulkareem, a colonel, of sexual harassment, intimidation and threat to her life.
The female soldier alleged that the colonel made sexual advances to her which she rejected.
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 evicted her from her apartment and locked her up in a psychiatric hospital.
Ogunleye added that whenever she tried to report Abdulkareem to senior officers, he always told them that she was battling mental illness.
However, addressing journalists on Tuesday, the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, said that after an exhaustive review of the facts, testimonies, and evidence presented, it was determined that Abdulkareem did not commit the offences alleged by Ogunleye.
Nwachukwu stated that medical reports following an evaluation at the National Hospital in Abuja indicated that Ogunleye was suffering from a condition that rendered her medically vulnerable.
Reacting to the spokesperson’s statement in a video on TikTok, Ogunleye asked the Nigerian Army to publicise the outcome of its investigation in the same manner her discharge was publicised.
In a separate post, Ogunleye also called on the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy, not to remain silent on the matter.
She said that the minister had prevailed on her to write the discharge letter, which she submitted on her behalf to the Nigerian Army.
Ogunleye expressed shock that her discharge was tied to a mental illness.
