A female inspector with the National Youth Service Corps is victimised by soldiers for doing her job
By Ben Adaji/Jalingo
On 8 October, Mrs. Hadiza Usman, the National Youth Service Corps Zonal Inspector incharge of Gashaka Local Government Area of Taraba State, was allegedly brutalised and stripped half-naked by an Army Captain, M.A. Maina, the Adjutant of the 20 Mechanised Battalion, Serti, in Gashaka Local Government.
Trouble began for the 32-year-old mother of two on 5 September when Mrs. Usman, on a routine visit to some schools and government agencies in the area to inspect Youth Corps members posted to the area, discovered that two female members of the 2007/2008 Batch ‘B’, namely, Amanda Nzenya and Jane Ibenaga, had traveled out of their places of primary assignment without recourse to official procedure.
This magazine gathered that, on their return to Gashaka a week later, the two female members were queried by Mrs Usman, who forwarded a copy to the state headquarters of NYSC in Jalingo.
Sources told this magazine that immediately the two ladies recieved the queries, they rushed to the Army barracks in Serti and reported the matter to the Commander of the 20 Mechanised Battalion, Col. Agaye and Captain M.A. Maina, who the two female corps members allegedly traveled with when Mrs Usman visited their place of primary assignment.
Both military officers were unhappy and summoned Mrs. Usman to the barracks the following day and attempted to compel her to withdraw the queries served on the female corps. To their dismay, the zonal Inspector told them that there was nothing she could do as she had already forwarded the queries to the state NYSC Headquarters in Jalingo. This angered the two officers, who allegedly walked Usman out of the Barracks with a threat to deal with her if any disciplinary action was taken against the two offenders.
Sources close to the NYSC state headquarters, Jalingo told this magazine that the complaint against the two corpers was promptly investigated and their service year was extended by three months each. But they were later pardoned following persistent pleas by the two military officers to the NYSC state headquarters.
But the NYSC inspector did not know the soldiers had marked her out for a ‘payback’. On 8 October, when Usman went to the United Bank for Africa, UBA, Serti branch for a transaction, as she stepped out of the banking hall, the first person she met was Captain Maina, who was in the company of two junior officers. The Captain was said to have prevented the hapless woman from moving away and allegedly barked: “Don’t greet me, you this wicked woman. I think we begged you to forgive those corpers and you refused.”
He thereafter pounced on the ‘bloody female civilian’ and gave her the beating of her life, allegedly kicking her with his military boots and later stripping her half-naked in the process. TheNEWS gathered that a battered Mrs. Usman, with her face covered in blood, was later rescued after sustained pleas from the bank manager and other important personalities and rushed to a private clinic in the area for treatment. Thereafter, she reported the matter to the Gashaka Divisional Police Headquarters, a situation said to have angered Captain Maina, who personally drove in his car to Usman’s compound and vowed to kill her if she did not work her transfer out of Gashaka Local Government.
Since the incident, Hadiza has been nursing her wounds, and crying for justice. Through E.N. Chia, a Jalingo-based legal practitioner, she has written several protest letters to many quarters, including Army Headquarters, Abuja praying that the Army officer be brought to book. She has also instituted a civil suit in a Jalingo High Court claiming damages over the assault on her person by the Army officer.
TheNEWS investigation however revealed that Captain, M.A. Maina was among the military personnel recently deployed to maintain peace in Sudan. All efforts to reach the Commander, 20 Mechanised Battalion, Serti for comment proved abortive.
oluwole
4 November 2008 09:46it is quite disheartening dat at this period of democratic dispensation the military personnel are yet to learn their lesson dat their presence is only meant for control of peace and maintenance of order at the boundaries of the country. some of them are grossly lacking in terms of discipline that they proclaim is the watchword of the professional carrier. so was i and other colleagues treated on ikorodu road unjustly by so-called army officers one tuesday in October 2008. may God bring the revolution that is absolutely needed to save us from abuse of office and power.
OGBENI NAIJA
7 November 2008 00:11IT WAS AN ADMIRAL ,NOW IT IS AN ARMY CAPTIAN MAINA AND HIS BOSS COL AGAYE WHAT A SHAMEFUL ACT OF THE TIMID,UNCIVILIZED,ANIMALISTIC,BABARIC & INHUMAN OFFICERS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF NIGERIA.THESE OFFICERS ARE NOT FIT TO DWELL IN A DECENT ENVIRONMENTS LIKE OURS.IT IS NOW GLEARING THAT MOST OF THESE OFFICERS ARE FRUSTRATED,THERE BY BECOMING BRUTES IN OUR DECENT SOCIETY.OUR MILITARY OFFICERS HAS NO REGARD FOR DECENT MARRIED WOMEN,BECAUSE MOST OF THEM PICKED THEIR WIVES FROM CLUB HOUSES,MAMMY MARKET,BUSH BAR,JETTY,MANGROOVE[ANGALA]SO THEY THINK MOST OF THE DECENT MARRIED WOMEN ARE LIKE THEIR WAYWARD WOMEN THEY PICKED FROM DUSTBEEN TO BARRACKS WHOM THEY CAN NOT CONTROL AT HOME.THOSE YOUTH CORPERS SHOULD BE DISCEPLINED FOR TRAVELING OUT WITH THE ARMY OFFICERS WHOM I SUSPECT ARE THEIR BOY FRIENDS.MRS ADIYA USMAN SHOULD TAKE A LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THESE NONENTYTIES CALLED ARMY OFFICERS AND THE CORPERS SHOULD HAVE THEIR TERMS EXTENDED BY ONE MORE YEAR AND THEY SHOULD BE REDEPLOYED WITH IMMIDIATE EFFECT TO A MORE INTERIOR AND REMOTE STATION WHERE THERE IS NO LIGHT,WATER AND GOOD ROAD.
tituswale brooklyn u s a
7 November 2008 07:47a country that has no law.
haruna yakubu
7 November 2008 12:39It ismost unfortunate that things like this still happen where people abuse their office.
The Army authorities should act acordingly otherwise officers of such charaters may ternish the image of the Army in foreign
mission.
Ephraim Osazuwa
8 November 2008 03:16Does it occur to these military nitwits, that Nigeria is not under a feudal system of government? In order to drive this point home, these shameless and uncultured ‘officers’ should be DISMISSED from the army immediately. Nigeria can no longer entertain these mindless cowards, whose only moment of triumph is, whenever they can brutalized civilians they are paid to protect. The atrocities of the uniform services in Nigeria is legendary, and it high time they stop.
Ayuba
8 November 2008 11:48Nigerian army chief should do something about this animalistic behavior of this officers, they are no fit in the nigerian army. such people should be dismise from service cos they are bringing shame to this country.
YUSUFBALA
8 November 2008 13:33Wether he is captain or what ever his rank, my dear after all you have done leave the remaining to almighty and keep watching one day you will laugh.be patient.
dele adesanmi
8 November 2008 22:09THE MILITARY HIGH COMMAND SHOULD PLEASE TAKE DRASTIC STEP TO BRING THEIR SO CALLED GENTLE OFFICERS TO ORDER.I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF A NCO DOES THIS,BUT FOR AN OFFICER HABA!!!!!!