A disabled man, by name Mr Adedeji Abolade, has accused a female soldier of allegedly assaulting him for scolding her son in the Mokola area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The soldier, identified as Mamman H and attached to the Letmuck Barracks in a video that went viral on Thursday, was seen slapping Abolade, who was on crutches.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Abolade had scolded Mamman’s four-year-old son on Wednesday for attempting to cross the expressway alone.
Abolade, who spoke to our correspondent, said Mamman and some other people on Thursday waylaid and beat him for scolding the boy.
He said, “On Wednesday when I was taking my children to school, a child jumped on the expressway to cross the road. Luckily, I was not speeding, so I came out and asked around who the mother of the boy was. No one answered until one guy said he knew his mother, but we didn’t see her. I warned the boy not to cross the road alone again.
“This morning (Thursday) around 7.30am when I was taking my children to school, the soldier and five other people waylaid my vehicle. When I got to the area, she dragged me out of the car and they started hitting me. As they were beating me, I was shouting for help and when it got to a stage, people took me from her and I was able to take my children to school.
“On my way back, she was now fully kitted in her uniform. Immediately she sighted me, she started beating me again. I told my daughter to start recording; the other people wanted to join in beating me, but when they saw that they were being recorded, they dragged her from there.”
The victim said he was ill before the attack, adding that the assault worsened his health condition.
He noted that when he attempted to report the matter at the Mokola Police Station, he was referred to the military police.
“I went to the Letmuck Barracks where she was attached to and the person I met at the gate identified her. But when we got to the military police unit inside the barracks, one Balogun made me walk several kilometres in the name of looking for the soldier and later claimed that she was an unknown soldier.
“I want justice to be served because I am in serious pain. I have been to the hospital to get treatment.”
The Public Relations Officer of the 2 Division, Col. Hassan Mohammed, when contacted by PUNCH Metro refused to comment on the matter, saying our correspondent did not witness the incident.
He stated, “You’re not in Ibadan, how did you know it happened in Ibadan? People cook stories; this is a social media era. It’s not something I can work on. If you’re an eyewitness, it’s a different case. Anybody can claim a victim. Call the eyewitness of this case and let him come and see me in the office.”