By Gabriel Idibia and Luka Binniyat
(Kaduna) A 24-year-old female Nigerian Army Recruit, Maryam Muhammad, has accused the Nigeria Army (NA) of sending her out of camp after falsely charging her for getting pregnant during training.
Muhammad, who despite her family name is a Christian and native of Fika town, Yobe State, North East Nigeria in an exclusive chat with Truth Nigeria (TN) denied ever getting pregnant at any time, saying she was chased away to make room for politically connected reservists.
The Nigeria Army Depot Zaria, Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria, is the only training facility for fresh under-rank soldiers.
Training for combat infantry usually lasts for six months.
Speaking to TruthNigeria in Kaduna recently in a smattering of English, Muhammad said:
“I spent 3 months in Depot Training in Zaria, expecting to finish in October, 2024,” she said.
According to her, shortly after she was deemed qualified and shortlisted for recruitment in Damaturu, Yobe State capital, she and other female colleagues underwent various forms of medical checks including pregnancy test, and she was adjudged fit.
“The same day we arrived at the Zaria depot, we were taken for a medical test, the same way we did in Yobe state training camp. We did blood tests and physical tests and they found out we don’t have any problems,” Muhammad said.
“They accepted us and welcomed us inside the depot and shared us into our company hostels.
Every two weeks, all female recruits went through a pregnancy test in the depot, she said.
“Last Month, August, they brought us to Military Recruiter Information Suites (MRIS) and did our test. Everything was okay.
According to her, to her shock, at the end of August, 2024, she was told that seven of them were pregnant and two of them were locked up for two days in the army detention cell for breaking depot rules that forbid getting pregnant while under training. She gave the name of the other recruit simply as Hanatu from Gombe state.
“Were seven, but only two of us were locked up. The remaining five have godfathers,” she said. The slang term, “Godfather,” refers to an official with political weight with Army higher-ups. So, they left them inside the hostel till the day we were going to 44 Army Referral Hospital, Kaduna.
“We don’t know where the others went. Only two of us were taken to Army Hospital for the pregnancy test,” Muhammad claimed.
“While in 44, they did a pregnancy test, scanning twice, and the results were all negative,” she said, but conceded that the two of them were found with infections.
“Aside from that, we’re free of everything; that’s what the doctor said. He told the depot officials if they are doubting, they should bring them after two weeks.
“So, on Monday, September 9, they carried us back to 44 Army Hospital again and did scanning with different doctors,” she said. “They even put something inside our private parts to see if our wombs were carrying babies,” she went on to say, saying the results were negative for pregnancy.
She noted that though seven of them were taken to Kaduna, she had no explanation for the fact that the other five were driven in more comfortable cars. The two recruits from the Northeastern states eventually got tested.
“Doctors told our female leader, her name Olawale. Doctor called her and told her to stop accusing us. She told them that we’re not pregnant, but only have an infection. That’s the problem. They should go and treat us, and allow us to continue with our training,” Muhammad said.
On Tuesday September 10, 2024, the result was shown to the Depot Commandant.
On Wednesday, September 11, during the gathering of all the recruits on the parade ground, the expulsion of all seven from the exercise was announced.
She said that she contested the decision there and then, but it was futile, since they were accused of being pregnant right from the beginning of the exercise.
She said that she was not only well behaved in the depot, but won many prizes for her company and rose to become the squad leader of the elite of ‘color party’ of their set
She denied being wayward, insisting that she was wrongly sent away.
On how much she had so far spent in the entire process, and whether she was given anything for her transportation back home, Maryam said that she has spent more than N700,000 Naira ($450 dollars) and that she had never been paid an allowance.
According to her, feeding, toiletries and even the buying of training uniforms and footwears were borne by the recruits in the depot. She said that her father and senior brother assisted her with the money for these expenses.
As far as she was concerned, she and others were falsely charged and thrown out to pave the way for more privileged females to replace them.
She said that though she bears the name ‘Maryam Muhammad’, she and Hanatu are both Christians from the Northeast of Nigeria, where Muslims are always preferred over Christians in job opportunities.
“From what I got to hear, they kicked us out to collect money and bring in new people,” she told TruthNigeria.
“I heard then that the other five girls have been assured to make the list of the recruitment next time if they make themselves okay,” she said.
Muhammad rendered documents to back her claims of not being pregnant.
The rejection of Ms. Muhammad appears to fit a pattern, according to Human Rights activist and Director General, Centre for Justice on Religious and Ethnicity in Nigeria, Rev. Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa. “Female army recruits from struggling homes are being replaced with daughters of the rich and powerful,” Dikwa told TruthNigeria.
“One of the senior military officers that discussed with us said all the pregnancy conducted on Maryam and Hanatu tests were negative.
Mariyam and Hanatu only have infections and military rules and regulation is to treat the infections, not to send them out of the training camp,” Dikwa said.
“In all the other security agencies, the same things are happening,” Dikwa explained.
“Last year a two-star police officer asked me if I knew someone in the Police Service Commission that could help him for the enlistment of his son.
“As a police officer they asked him to pay N400,000 Naira ($250 dollars) before his son would be shortlisted, and he didn’t have the money. I told him that even if he had the money, let him go and open a business for his son with the N400,000 Naira and not to give to the police a bribe,” Dikwa said.
Contacted for clarification, the Army public relations officer, Capt. Ocihienta neither answered his calls nor replied SMS sent to him until press time.
Gabriel Idibia and Luka Binniyat are conflict reporters in Kaduna.
