Soldiers detain woman while driving sick child home

A Lagos-based hotel manager, Ms Omolara
Koleoso, has accused some soldiers at the Ikeja
Cantonment of unlawfully detaining her for
arguing with their colleague.
She said she was detained for over 24 hours
without food, adding that family members who
came were not allowed to see her.
Our correspondent learnt that it took the
intervention of a senior officer in the barracks
before the woman was released around 8pm on
Saturday.
PUNCH Metro gathered that around 4pm on
Friday, Koleoso had gone to pick her daughter,
who is a pupil of the Command Day Secondary
School within the cantonment, after receiving a
call that she was ill.
It was learnt that as she wanted to drive out of
the barracks, a female soldier shut the gate and
reportedly demanded that the pupil
disembarked from the car and joined other
students for sanitation in the school.
Attempts by the mother to convince her that
the daughter was ill and needed to rest
reportedly fell on deaf ears, after which an
altercation ensued.
Koleoso said, “My daughter was in the school on
that day at 7am for the NECO Food and Nutrition
practical exam. I am an old student of the school
and I have a good relationship with the
management.
“My daughter later called me, saying she was
feeling dizzy. It has never happened to her
before, so I had to rush back to the school. I
met with one of her teachers and after she was
through with the practical, we left the school.
“As I drove towards the gate, a soldier – I don’t
know her name but I can recognise her – closed
it. She told my daughter to go back. I pleaded
with her that she was ill, but she refused. When
I asked why she allowed other students to go
out, she became angry and we started
exchanging words. She called me a bloody
civilian and I told her that I deserved some
respect. Another soldier begged her to let us
leave, but she refused.”
Koleoso told our correspondent that four other
soldiers suddenly appeared and accused her of
attempting to beat an officer.
She said, “She pushed me; they said I was drunk.
I said no and they ordered me into the military
post. One of them, my daughter and I entered
my car and I drove to the post. They locked me
up in the cell and after some hours they took
me out and detained me at the counter.
“I was there without food and water until
around 8pm on Saturday. My mother and a
retired senior police officer came, but they
were not allowed to see me. It was a major that
called them on the telephone and ordered that I
should be released. I heard some of them say,
‘that woman did not do anything wrong, it is just
a show of power’. They told me to come back by
9am on Tuesday (today) for resolution or be
handed over to the police for violating barracks
law,” she said.
The spokesperson, 81 Division, Lagos, Lt. Col.
Benjamin Joseph, urged Koleoso to formally
report the matter and promised that the
command would take appropriate actions on it.
He said, “I have spoken with the woman
(Koleoso) and sent her number to the
commandant. The commandant will invite all
the parties. It is good she can identify the
soldier. Let her go back to the school and from
there, we can take up our investigation.”

Source: The Punch