Nigerian soldier, Valentino Damilola Abobare, has written an emotional plea to President Bola Tinubu, seeking reinstatement into the Nigerian Army after allegedly being tortured and unjustly dismissed.
Abobare, a native of Ifira Akoko, Ondo State, claimed he was detained for several months at the 231 Battalion in Biu, Borno State, where he suffered severe ill-treatment.
His fiancée’s public outcry led to his release, but he was subsequently dismissed from the army for attending the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
In January 2021, Reporter reported that then Commanding Officer of the 231 Battalion, Biu, Borno State, Lt. Col M.E Obi, had detained and tortured Valentino Damilola Abobare for over six months without trial and salaries.
The wife of the soldier, Sarah Valentino, who raised the alarm, lamented that her husband was being detained and tortured without trial and denied his salaries, for going ‘Away Without Official Leave’ to earn a certificate.
She said her husband needed urgent medical attention as he had been subjected to cruel treatments, without salary, social welfare or access to his relatives.
Mrs Valentino told SaharaReporters that several pleas and efforts for her husband to regain his freedom had not yielded any success.
According to Mrs Valentino, her husband had participated in the mandatory National Service Youth Corps programme in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in 2019/2020, to use the certificate to get promotion to an Officer’s Cadre in the military, having obtained the Short Service Commission form.
However, Abobare, in a copy of his letter made available to SaharaReporters, said despite his efforts to appeal the decision through various channels, including the army’s legal service department and the Nigerian Army headquarters, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
He has since struggled to find employment to support himself and his parents.
He wrote: “I spent seven months in detention with severely ill-treatment which made my fiancée take the step of contacting help from the public to protest my release because she could not stand and watch me die while I was terribly sick and could not afford medications in army detention.
“The news went viral and the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. M.E. Obi placed me in an open arrest and got me dismissed from the army after 4 months. Prior to this moment I had taken several steps to be restored in the army but all steps proved abortive.
“The steps include: My first contact to the army legal service department at 3 Division Headquarters, Jos, where I met with MWO Soforu (HOD legal service department, Jos) proved abortive. My second contact to the Nigerian Army headquarters Abuja with a letter of redress and appeal for reinstatement was not given consideration. My third contact also to the Nigeria Army headquarters (AHQ) through a lawyer with a letter appealing for my reinstatement was also abortive.
“I love the army because I had always wanted to protect my nation and restore back her dignity, I know I was born savior but I don’t know how that was to happen and this is why I joined the army in 2016 but it feels so disheartening how my journey had ended in the Nigeria Army even after I had suffered double jeopardy and since then I couldn’t secure any job that could take care of my needs and not to talk of taking care of my parents.
“After my dismissal, I have worked in several establishments including John Event Industries Limited, Akure as an operator and Ondo State Specialist Hospital Ikare as a public health inspector and one of my roles included ensuring a proper and effective waste management by regular inspections of wards and health education of staffs and enforcing public health standards from a collection of waste to the final disposal site to improve the aesthetic condition of the hospital and maintain a safe environment within the hospital premises and the community.
“I have decided to take this step and I have considered it as my final trail and only hope by contacting your excellency sir, being the alpha and the omega, the father and the mother of our dear nation who has a listening ear and a compassionate heart and being also the commander and the chief of the armed forces who has a great vision for this nation and the citizens of the land and even the world at large and I pray my letter meets you well sir.
“Father, this is my story and indeed I realize I did wrong for attending NYSC as a military personnel and I am taking this moment to apologize to you sir for my mistakes and other military personnel who had similar claims and we pledge to be of good conduct, discipline and loyal to your government if considered for reinstatement and we also look forward to your mercy and I personally anticipate earnestly meeting with you, working with you, serving your purpose and finally available for any clarification regarding my case.”
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