Former soldier shares a detailed account of abuse allegations against Colonel I.B Abdulkareem, calling for justice
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]uth Ogunleye, discharged from the Nigerian Army after accusing senior officers of sexual harassment, has shared harrowing details of her alleged abuse.
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Ogunleye, who served in the Medical Corps at the Nigerian Army Cantonment Medical Centre in Ojo, Lagos, claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted by her commanding officer, Colonel I.B Abdulkareem.
In January 2024, Ogunleye made headlines by posting accusations against Colonel Abdulkareem, Colonel G.S Ogor, and Brigadier General I.B Solebo on her TikTok account. She stated that these senior officers had made her life unbearable. However, the Nigerian Army, after conducting an investigation, dismissed her claims as false. The Army’s spokesman, Major-General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the allegations were reviewed thoroughly, but no evidence supported Ogunleye’s claims.
In an interview with PUNCH, Ogunleye provided a detailed account of the events that transpired, beginning in February 2022 when she had only been in the Medical Corps unit for three weeks. She claims Colonel Abdulkareem started by sending her unwanted gifts, which she refused. On February 27, 2022, she says he summoned her to a hotel and offered her N50,000 in exchange for sex. When she declined, citing the Army’s code of conduct, Abdulkareem allegedly became vindictive.
“He began subjecting me to extra duties and unjust punishment,” Ogunleye recounted. She further alleged that Abdulkareem injected her with Largactil, a sedative used for mentally ill patients, often against her will. “He would either point a gun at me or have soldiers pin me down,” she said, adding that sometimes he personally handcuffed her to administer the drug.
The abuse, according to Ogunleye, didn’t end there. She claims that after drugging and sexually assaulting her, Abdulkareem would place her in a body bag and order that she be dumped in a psychiatric hospital. She described how he kept her isolated from her family, denied her educational opportunities, and regularly subjected her to degrading treatment.
Ogunleye’s allegations are a stark contrast to the official Army investigation, which concluded that the claims lacked substance.
Nevertheless, her account has sparked outrage, drawing attention to the treatment of women in the military and the need for reforms.
As of now, no new official statements have been released by the Nigerian Army regarding Ogunleye’s detailed account.
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However, her story raises serious questions about the internal mechanisms for addressing sexual harassment and abuse within the military, highlighting the potential for misuse of power by senior officers.
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