A female soldier named Lance Corporal Philomena Nnamoko, who is stationed at Ilese Sappers Barracks in Division 2, Ogun State, was reportedly beaten and sent to Yaba Psychiatric Hospital.
Nnamoko claimed in an interview with Punch that she was bullied and harassed by her senior colleagues because she refused their advances.
She also mentioned that she had written multiple letters requesting to be discharged from the army, but her requests were denied.
Emmanuel Brown, Nnamoko’s only child, revealed that his mother was beaten and taken to a psychiatric hospital, stating that he received the information on Sunday night.
According to him, “I got the information around 10 p.m., and I rushed to the Medical Reception Station inside the barracks. When I got there, she was unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she explained how they beat her up. I feel horrible because of the stress, and I was saddened to see bruises on her body. While there, she even vomited, and I had to clean her up and cover her with clothes because she was feeling cold.
“On getting to the MRS this (Monday) morning, I discovered that they had taken her to the Yaba Psychiatric Hospital. I was confused as to what happened to her to warrant her being taken to a psychiatric hospital.”
Backing up Brown’s statement, Philomena’s lawyer, Kayode Oshiyemi, also confirmed that his client was assaulted by a senior officer on Monday. He alleged that the officers falsely claimed she had a mental disorder in order to hide the assault.
He said, “She was assaulted yesterday (Sunday) by a captain in the barracks. They lied that she had mental issues to cover up the assault. They called her to the office this morning (Monday) and assaulted her. As we speak, she has been taken to Yaba under the guise that she has a mental illness.
“But, she is very stable, and there is nothing wrong with her. She has been my client for over one year, so I know there is nothing wrong with her mentally. She consistently gave details of how she was harassed, assaulted, and nearly raped. She is mentally stable, as she did not show any trace of mental illness. She brought documents to my office and answered all my questions very well. Whenever she was harassed, she called to inform me of the developments.
“They kept asking her to write (discharge) letters which were not submitted to the appropriate quarters.”
