Publish outcome on sexual harassment investigation – Ruth Ogunleye to Nigerian Army

Former Nigerian Army soldier, Private Ruth Ogunleye, has urged the Nigerian Army to make public the findings of its investigation into her accusations of sexual harassment against senior officers, including Colonel I.B. Abdulkareem.

Ogunleye, who was dismissed from service earlier this year, took to her TikTok account to reiterate her demands for transparency.

Ogunleye had previously accused Abdulkareem of repeated attempts to assault her, administering unwanted injections, and confining her to a psychiatric hospital after she refused his advances. She also implicated Colonel G.S. Ogor and Brigadier General I.B. Solebo in making her life difficult.

In response, the Nigerian Army, through its spokesperson Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, dismissed Ogunleye’s claims, stating that an extensive review of the facts and evidence found no merit to her accusations. The Army also noted that medical evaluations indicated Ogunleye had a condition making her medically vulnerable, which influenced her discharge.

While Ogunleye expressed gratitude to the Army for her service, she insisted that the results of the investigation should be made public for the sake of transparency.

She said, “I want to say a big thank you to the Nigerian Army and its spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu. It is no longer news that I was discharged from the service on June 15, 2024.

I humbly request that the Nigerian Army publish the outcome of the investigation that led to my discharge.

“On January 9, 2024, I came on social media to complain about how I was harassed by Colonel I.B. Abdulkareem, Colonel G.S. Ogor, and Brigadier General I.B. Soleb.”

“I beg the Nigerian Army to post the outcome of the investigation on its social media platforms so that the whole world will know what truly transpired and what led to my discharge. I will be very grateful if my request is considered.”

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.

She said, “I’m calling out the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy. You’re not just a mother, you’re a woman everybody respects so much.”

“Please come out and say things as they are. Ma, you requested me to leave the job, and I submitted my handwritten voluntary resignation letter to you, which you gave to the Army, and requested that they release me to your office.”

The psychiatric doctors were there when you intervened.

“Come out and tell the truth, ma. Thereafter, the Chief of Army Staff called me on July 1, where he told me he converted my voluntary discharge to a medical discharge because you wanted me to benefit from pension and other entitlements. How was I boarded out, and where is this mental illness coming from?”