Nigerian Army Fails to Arrest Senior Officers Accused of Sexual Harassment, Detains Ruth Ogunleye
A female soldier named Ruth Ogunleye recently spoke out about sexual harassment in the military in a video that went viral, after which Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, the minister of women's affairs in Nigeria, reportedly visited the rehabilitation centre where Ruth was receiving treatment.
In a post on her X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, Ohanenye said, “Aside from the noticeable improvement from my last visit to her, she was in high spirits and we interacted cordially.” She added that her ministry had deployed a “desk officer to monitor her recovery in keeping with our mandate to promote the welfare and well-being of Nigerian women".
Meanwhile, sources told SaharaReporters that the military authorities “arrested and detained Ruth, claiming she is undergoing rehab, but did not arrest the officers she accused of sexual harassment”.
Military sources say that Ruth was imprisoned while they claimed she was undergoing rehabilitation. However, the senior male commanders who Ruth accused of sexually assaulting her were left alone. Ruth was reportedly taken into custody and transported from Lagos to Abuja earlier this month.
“The lady who complained in the viral video about sexual harassment in the military has been arrested and moved to Abuja by air this morning. She was flown out accompanied by military police in mufti from Lagos to Abuja,” a top military source had told SaharaReporters.
In the now-viral video, Ruth said that top army commanders were threatening her life because she refused their sexual advances.
She protested how the senior army officers – whom she identified as Col. I.B. Abdulkareem, Col. G.S. Ogor and Brig. Gen. I.B. Solebo– had been oppressing her since she was assigned to Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo, Lagos in 2022, for refusing their sexual advances. According to her, she was falsely accused of having a mental condition, which led to her eviction from her flat, many unjustified incarcerations, and a month spent without medicine in a mental institution.
She claims that her income has gone unpaid since February 2023 and that her bank account has been suspended. Additionally, she said that Col. Abdulkareem made many attempts to rape her. Despite her best efforts—which included penning a petition and enlisting the help of both senior and junior officers—the female soldier stated that the army commander eventually said that she suffered from a mental condition.
According to her, Col. Abdulkareem had also barred her from attending any and all army classes and had even taken away her right to see her parents. Col. Abdulkareem allegedly instructed her father to tell her to follow the final command after he spoke with her father about her issues, according to her.
She said, “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. I.B. Abdulkareem, Col. G.S. Ogor and Brig. Gen. I.B. Solebo responsible, because they don’t want me to grow. They don’t want my progress."
“In 2022, I was posted to Cantonment Medical Center, Ojor where I met Col. I.B. Abdulkareem, who requested for me and I refused. Ever since then, this man has been my nightmare in the army - threatening 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. Now 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 said it has launched an inquiry into the allegations of abuse after the video gained widespread attention.
Army Public Relations Director Major-General Onyema Nwachukwu issued a statement stating that the female soldier had not informed the appropriate authorities of her situation prior to sharing the video.