A Social Commentator, Yemi Osanyin has called on the House of representative, female law makers at national and state levels, Ministry of Women Affairs, the First Lady and wives of Governors, the National Human Rights Commission and Women Led NGOs to act now.
We must not let this go the Nigerian way. We must not let Ruth Ogunleye down. We must not fail her.
The relevant provisions of VAPP must be activated in this case regardless of who is involved. And if she is found to have lied, stricter sanctions should be applied
May at times, things happening in Nigeria are distressing and deepens hopelessness with many of them showing man inhumanity to man.
We have read so much about the case of the lady (Ruth Ogunleye) a private, recently discharged by the Army authorities for daring to speak out on the harrowing experience with some very senior military officers.
We give it to the military authority that it has its internal mechanism for dealing with a case like this, however, it seems that there is some sort of cover up.
This lady must have been frustrated by the system to the point that she resorted to Tik Tok to voice out, perhaps knowing or not knowing that the outcome may not be palatable.
It was a bold and daring step taken to seek redress but as it turned out to be, Nigeria happened to her, the powers that be once again came to the defence of its own for reasons that are open to a number of speculations by the public.
We were told that she has some mental issues which the lady denied. The interview the lady granted largely shows that she is someone of a sound mind as she responded to all issues without derailing a bit.
The questions are that why could she not have mentioned other persons’ names aside those names she mentioned? What could have transpired between the lady and the senior officers she mentioned?
Why did she lose faith in the system to the point of resorting to self help through Tik Tok? What could have given a mere private the audacity to lay those heavy allegations on her seniors knowing that she has zero level chances of getting justice? Was her beauty made her irresistible to the point of being made a sex slave as alleged?
There is definitely no smoke without fire! Can any of the officers alleged pray that their daughters go through similar experiences? I think this is a case that should not be swept under carpet as an independent investigation will help unravel the real truth.
It is obvious that the Lady may not be able to return to the Army but at least she may be able to come out clean and move on proudly with her life. Do we know the damages this incident has caused and may still cause her in a society that derides a lay that has been raped?
There is already a stigma attached to her which may narrow her chances of getting a suitable suitor in the years to come. Anyone that marries her will be an object of ridicule, same for children she may have in the future.
According to BBC, Ex-private Ruth Ogunleye made the allegations via her TikTok account in January, saying she had suffered immensely as a result of her ordeal at the hands of a general and two colonels.
Her allegations caused widespread outrage in Nigeria and prompted the women’s minister to discuss the case with the army chief.
After an investigation, the army dismissed her allegations and said the soldier had been discharged on medical grounds as she suffers from a condition that makes her vulnerable, without giving further details.
Ms Ogunleye has now released a second video on TikTok, in which she calls for the investigation to be made public and describes how she was raped and given an injection by those she accused.
“Firstly I want to thank [army spokesman] General Onyema Nwachukwu for posting me on all social media platforms, newspapers, it shows how powerful I am,” she said.
“January 9th 2024, I came on social media to complain of how I was harassed, of how I was raped and how I was injected and put inside a casket.
“How I had a gun pointed at me, was handcuffed and kept inside an office for some days.
“I want to beg the Nigerian army to post the outcome of the investigation on all social media platforms, so that the world would know what transpired,” she noted.
The outcome of the investigation was revealed by Gen Nwachukwu on Tuesday evening.
“Upon receipt of her complaint, the Nigerian Army referred the matter to the Military Police for a thorough investigation. The investigation concluded that Colonel IB Abdulkareem did not commit the alleged offences,” he said.
He said Ms Ogunleye had been discharged after refusing to get medical treatment from either the National Hospital in the capital, Abuja, or the Nigerian Army.
He went on to accuse her of propagating “false narratives against Colonel Abdulkareem and other senior officers [and] using online platforms to engage in cyberbullying and defamation”.
