Ruth Ogunleye, an anguished female Nigerian soldier has cried out for help over her maltreatment and dehumanization in the Army by her superiors because she refused their sexual advances.
Her outcry has left the Nigerian Army and other security agencies under scrutiny and the questions many Nigerians are asking are these: are female officers turned into sex toys by their male superiors? Is the case of Ruth Ogunleye widespread and a mere tip of the iceberg of the injustice against female officers in the Nigerian military or just isolated – if in fact it turns out to be true.
Sharing her awful experiences on TikTok under her handle @ogunleyeruthsavage1, Miss Ogunleye, alleged that some superior officers, whom she identified as Col. I. B. Abdulkareem, Col. G. S. Ogor, and Brig. Gen. I. B. Solebo had made life unbearable for her since she joined the Army.
According to the female soldier, Abdulkareem made repeated attempts to assault her by administering injections against her will.
She also alleged that the said Abdulkareem orchestrated her removal from her residence, and confined her to a psychiatric hospital for several months.
Ogunleye also said the same officer had hindered her career progress, by denying her promotional courses because she rejected his romantic advances.
In the video, she said, “In 2022, I was posted to the Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo, where I met Col I. B. 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 and sends some boys to my house…I have all the evidence. I have evidence against him and I have witnesses.
“He also stigmatised me, saying that I have a mental illness. Every time I try to expose him or each time any senior person or any senior officer tries to intervene, he will tell them that I have a mental illness.
“He (froze) my account for one year from 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, a female soldier, 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. I. B. Solebo and some of those senior colonels will come to that place, and they will be videoing me.”
Ogunleye added that her father had tried to beg Abdulkareem but he remained unpacifiable. She therefore appealed to Nigerians for support, noting however that she knew that her disclosure would lead to grave consequences and possible arrest.
Since her video went viral on social media, the Nigerian Army has maintained an undignified silence.
Meanwhile, her spine-chilling revelation has set the social media on fire, with several Nigerians calling for a thorough investigation and dismissal of the culprits if found guilty.
CHECKPOINTCHARLEY calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as commander-in-chief, to order an independent probe into sexual harassment within the Nigerian military.
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