Army detains fleeing soldier’s wife, children – TheNigerialawyer

The family of Ayo Oluwaniyi, the wife of one of the soldiers,
who allegedly stole N400m they were escorting, has lamented the
arrest and detention of the woman and her three children by the
Nigerian Army in Ondo State.

It was gathered that 37-year-old Ayo and her children were
arrested after her husband, Gabriel, was identified as one of the
five soldiers alleged to have stolen the money they were escorting
from Sokoto to Kaduna.

A family member, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of
anonymity, said Ayo and her children were being detained at the 32
Artillery Brigade, Owena Barracks, Akure.

She stated that they had been denied access to family members,
adding that the family was worried about Ayo and her children’s
state of health.

Recall that five soldiers were confirmed to have stolen the
money while on escort duty from Sokoto to Kaduna in the first week
of July.

The former General Officer Commanding, 8 Division, Nigerian
Army, Sokoto, Maj. Gen. Hakeem Otiki, had reportedly asked the
soldiers to escort the money and deliver it to a Very Important
Person in Kaduna.

The 8 Division spokesperson, Lieutenant Audu Arigu, had
confirmed the incident, saying investigation had commenced and
identified the runaway soldiers as Corporal Gabriel Oluwaniyi,
Corporal Mohammed Aminu and Lance Corporals Haruna, Oluji Joshua
and Hayatudeen Abubakar.

Army sources stated that the runaway soldiers turned in their
rifles and abandoned their mobile phones at the Infantry Corps in
Jaji, Kaduna State, before they escaped.

One of the sources said, “Investigations so far showed that this
was not the first time that the escort soldiers had conveyed such a
huge amount of money for the officer. The soldiers all left their
mobile phones in the vehicle, which has made tracking them
difficult.”

The Oluwaniyi family source stated, “Ayo’s husband is a soldier
and he was deployed in Sokoto State. We learnt that that was not
the first time they were escorting money on the instructions of
their boss, so they decided to abscond with the money.

“We learnt that they dropped their uniforms, guns and phones. It
was through Ayo husband’s phone that they got her number. They
probably sent the information to the division here in Ondo and that
was how she was arrested. We learnt that the wife of the other four
soldiers had escaped.

“It’s been two weeks since Ayo and her children have been in
detention. They won’t allow us to see them and they did not allow
them to change clothes; they just kept on telling us that she was
not being maltreated. We are worried; one of her children is just
about a year old.

“They said the victims were being detained because they could
not find her husband and probably she was in touch with him. She
said she had not seen or heard from her husband, but they said
maybe he would come out if Ayo and her children were held. We
cannot speak with her; it is one of the soldiers guarding her that
we speak to.”

When the Brigade’s Assistant Director, Army Public Relations,
Captain Victor Olukoya, was contacted, he said he was not at the
base, adding that he would get back to our correspondent when he
returned.

“I am not on the ground at the moment, I am attending a course.
Anything you want to say, wait till I come back; I will let you
know when I come back,” Olukoya stated.

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