A female soldier attached to Ilese Sappers Barracks, Division 2, Ogun State, Lance Corporal Philomena Nnamoko, who alleged that her senior colleagues had been bullying and harassing her following her refusal to give in to their sexual advances, was allegedly beaten and sent to the Yaba Psychiatric Hospital following her interview with Sunday PUNCH on January 28, 2024.
In the interview with Sunday PUNCH, Philomena had spoken about how some of her superiors made sexual advances at her, claiming that she had written several letters seeking a voluntary discharge from the army, but was not granted.
Confirming that she was beaten and bundled to a psychiatric hospital, the only child of the soldier, Emmanuel Brown, told PUNCH Metro on Monday evening that he got the information that his mother was assaulted on Sunday night.
He said, “I got the information around 10 pm, 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.”
Corroborating Brown’s account, Philomena’s lawyer, Kayode Oshiyemi, also told our correspondent that his client was assaulted by a senior officer on Monday, alleging that they lied that she had a mental disorder to cover up for 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 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.”
Philomena’s twin brother, Philip Edwin, also insisted to our correspondent that nothing was wrong with his twin sister’s mental health, as they were both relating properly. He said, “Her son just called me today (Monday) and explained what happened to her last night. Meanwhile, she (Philomena) was with me last Wednesday, and we spoke very well. She is mentally okay, and even my friends can testify to it. There is nothing wrong with her mentally.
“I am feeling horrible, and I am not happy about it. The Army has a problem with her, and that is what is causing these issues.”
Meanwhile, all efforts to speak with the army’s spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, proved abortive as his number was unreachable, and he did not reply to messages sent to him via SMS and WhatsApp as of the time of filing this report.
