How colonel cleared by army drugged, raped me — Discharged Soldier
Ruth Ogunleye, a female soldier who was dismissed from the army for reporting sexual harassment against Colonel I.B. Abdulkareem, a senior commander, has described how she was drugged and sexually assaulted for days.
According to reports, Ogunleye accused Col. IB Abdulkareem, Col. G.S. Ogor, and Brig. Gen. I.B. Solebo of making her life intolerable on her TikTok account in January of this year.
Onyema Nwachukwu, the ground forces’ spokesperson, provided an update on the situation, stating that the accusations were untrue.
Nwachukwu, a Major-General, stressed that the conclusion was arrived at after an exhaustive review of the facts, testimonies, and evidence presented during the investigations carried out.
However, in an interview with newsmen, the discharged soldier explained what played out in details.
READ ALSO: Discharged female soldier urges army to publish outcome of sexual harassment investigation
Ogunleye said: “This incident occurred in 2022 when I was serving in the Medical Corps at the Nigerian Army Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo, Lagos. The Colonel was the commanding officer at the time. I had only been in the unit for three weeks when he started sending me gifts, which I refused to accept.
“On February 27, 2022, he called and summoned me to meet him at the Eagleston Hotel by 5pm. When I arrived, he said he wanted to have sex with me. He offered me N50,000 to do that and even promised to help me get admitted into a military school. I refused, reminding him that it was against the Nigerian Army’s code of conduct for superiors to engage in sexual relations with subordinates.
“After that encounter, he became vindictive and began to maliciously deal with me, subjecting me to extra duties and unjust punishment.
“He later began injecting me with largactil, a drug typically administered to mentally ill patients to sedate them.”
Asked if she was conscious while he was injecting her, she replied, “Yes, but I had no choice. He would either point a gun at me or have soldiers pin me down before injecting me. Sometimes, he would personally handcuff me. He would also instruct the doctors in our unit to administer the drug. After being injected, I would be unconscious for days, completely unable to function.
“After sexually assaulting me, he would put me in a body bag and order that I be dumped at a psychiatric hospital.
“This happened several times. He didn’t allow me to attend any military courses. He denied me access to school. He didn’t allow me to visit my parents even during festive periods. I didn’t benefit from anything.
“Sometimes, he would instruct soldiers to come to my house and bring me. They would come to my house at midnight and give me the injection. There was a time he kept me in his office for four days,” he added.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
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