âI was arrÂŁsted and now dismissed as a Nigerian soldier because of a video I made last year, where I called on politiciansâ children to join the military, saying that ministers, governors, and local government chairmen, all politicians, should send their sons into the army to f!g.ht t.ÂŁrror.i$ts.â

âThis is the reason I was arrÂŁsted. From my location, they hand.c„ffed my legs and hands. It was as if I had st0len or k!||ÂŁd.â

âThey moved me from there because I was inside the bush, and I had been there for about four years and nine months, staying in that location.â

âFrom there, they moved me to Maiduguri, 70th Provost MP Guard Room. From there, they took me to Abuja SIB. I was there for more than a month.â

âThey brought me back from Abuja to the 70th, then took me back to my location, and I was still l0ckÂŁd up with handc„ffs on my legs and hands, as if I had st0lÂŁn something.â

âThey gave me a paper for my charges, four charges, but I will give details later because I canât provide everything now.â

âThey called out my order and read the charges, the first, second, third, and fourth, and I was dis.miss.ed, dis.miss.ed from the regiment, just because of the video I made.â

âI didnât expect this. It shows that in our country, we donât have freedom of speech, and we are not free to say the truth.â

âI really s„ffÂŁred. I s„ffÂŁred a lot in Abuja, with hand.c„ffs on my legs and hands for over a month.â

âEven the feeding was just twice a day, small portions, not even up to N500 worth of food. No calls. I couldnât talk to my family or anyone. They collected my phone.â

âIt was after they dis.miss.ed me that they marched me out. I was dis.miss.ed from my unit and taken to the 7th Division. From there, they marched me out of the barracks as a dis.miss.ed soldier. It is so s@d.â

âI donât have anyone to fight for me, but I know God will fight for me because this is not right.â

âPlease, I want people to continue standing for me and help me fight for justice because I never expected this.â

âI spent eight years in service. Since 2018, when I joined the army, I have never been charged until now because of social media.â
âI have never f0ught anyone, never st0lÂŁn, never k!||ÂŁd, and never been involved in any misconduct. But because I spoke the truth on social media⊠I was dismissed.â

âI spent four years and nine months in Maiduguri, and nobody spoke about it or came to change my situation.â

âI really s„ffÂŁred. They treated me b@dly⊠but no pr0blem, glory be to God. Where there is life, there is hopeâŠâ – A Nigerian soldier, Lance Corporal Rotimi Olamilekan, has opened up on his arrest, detention, and eventual dismissal from the Nigerian Army after he made a viral video calling on politicians to allow their children join the military to f!ght t.ÂŁrror.ism.

đSHARÂŁ