.I Was Wrongly Demoted, Now They Want to Kill Me – Soldier Cries Out
A serving Soldier in the Nigerian Army has cried out following an ‘attempt on his life’ days after he was demoted and transferred to the North-East.
The soldier said he had uncovered a system where certain officers were paid ‘protection’ money by establishments to provide security.
The Soldier, Adeniyi Mayowa, (13NA/70/6609) who until August 2018 was a Lance Corporal, said there were sinister motives to silence him about ‘illegal activities’ of Senior Military Officers at the 14th Brigade,144 Battalion, Abia State.
According to Mayowa, on May 26, 2018, he was detailed to lead other soldiers to one Grand Lotto World Hotel, in Aba, Abia State to quell a fight at the hotel where “some boys were fighting with bottles and knives”.
“We got there and saw some people already wounded. We wanted to take photographs of the environment that was when I noticed that my phone had been stolen within the premises. We arrested some boys, both in connection with the fight and the stolen phone.
“I informed our O/C of what happened at the hotel, and he told us to take the boys (arrested) to the nearest police station, which is Cameroon Barracks.
“At the police station, the DPO interrogated them. While others denied stealing the phone, one of them, however, said he knew who took the phone and offered that they would replace the missing phone. That was agreed upon and they contributed money and bought another phone for me and did the ‘welcome back’ for my SIM card.”
He was eventually arrested on July 21, 2018, when the ‘boys’, who allegedly admitted knowing the missing phone, turned around and claimed in a newspaper that the Soldiers tortured them in the process of forcing them to replace the phone.
“The Brigade Commander ordered my arrest by the military police. I was detained from July 21 to August 2018 when they prepared my order for disobedient to standing order and conduct, to which I pleaded not guilty.”
“I was demoted with 21 days I.H.L (Imprisonment with Hard Labour) and loss of pay without investigation. The disturbing part is that my colleagues who went to work with me on that fateful day and who witnessed the whole incident were not even interviewed,”.
“With this unjust demotion, my juniors have turned to my seniors and they send me on errands,” he said.
Mayowa added in the bid to silence him, he was posted out of Abia State to Borno State, where Nigerian soldiers are in a fierce battle with the Boko Haram insurgents.
The soldier also added that in the bid to prove his innocence, he wrote to his Network Provider (MTN) to track his stolen phone. He said the result and eventual arrest of one Macvision showed that the suspects earlier arrested had sold the phone to him.
“Police recovered the phone and arrested Macvission who later identified the persons who sold the phone to him, and the suspects were all charged to court.
Mayowa also gave an account of how he was “trailed and shot at for daring to report the incident to the National Human Rights Commission”.
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“The victimisation and threats I’m receiving from the unit and brigade, as well as civilians, is much. The trouble I’m facing now is (due to) my audacity to report the case to you. Whereas the truth of the matter is that this incident happened where we went for illegal duty which officers sent us and they pay them N40, 000 monthly, while they pay them N250, 000 in another illegal duty, they pocket this money and when issues come up, they leave us in the cold without anybody to help.”
The management of the hotel declined to comment when contacted by Rootstv Nigeria.
“One of the reasons they find it convenient to send me out now is to cover their tracks, knowing that the way this case is going, their secrets will be exposed”.
Roots Tv Nigeria efforts to get the Nigerian Army’s reaction through its Director of Public Relations, Col Sagir Musa proved abortive.