Ex-Soldier Accuses Nigerian Army General Of Unlawful Demotion, Detention: ‘I Was Locked Up, Forced To Quit—I Cried Seeing My Juniors Outrank Me’

A former Nigerian soldier, Michael Jojor, has publicly accused Major General A.A. Adekeye, the former Commandant of the Nigerian Army Armour School (NAAS) in Bauchi, of orchestrating a campaign of maltreatment, unlawful detention, and wrongful demotion against him.

He said he was enlisted into the Nigerian Army on June 25, 2016 as a member of 75RRI.

The allegation was contained in a post shared via a purported Facebook page of the “Nigeria Defence Academy” (NDA), where Jojor recounted what he described as the most painful period of his military career, which forced him to resign on January 22, 2025.

Jojor stated that he had been lawfully attached to 6 Division Garrison, Port Harcourt, through an official release from NAAS (Nigerian Army Aviation School), but was later allegedly declared absent without leave (AWOL) by Major General Adekeye in June 2023.

“In June 2023 Maj Gen AA Adekeye instructed that I should be booked on AWOL. After I was booked on AWOL it got to 6 Div Gar and that was when I was released from 6 Div Gar with signal and pass to report back to Bauchi. I got to NAAS and Maj Gen AA Adekeye locked me in the guard room for up to 2 weeks,” he wrote.

“Then later handed me over to military police for investigation, I explained everything that happened to military police together with my evidence, they even had to call Brig Gen T Isa to confirm how I was released which he confirmed that he was aware of my release. Then military police concluded that I didn't do anything wrong,” he added.

Jojor revealed that despite being cleared by military police, the Commandant still demoted him and ordered further punishment.

“He later came and took me from them without them writing anything against me, and instructed Lt Col IA Musa 211 bn CO to demote me from lance corporal to private and still awarded me another 14 days IHL, and also instructed I should be deployed to Frontline immediately,” he said.

He said he endured the humiliation, expecting that his rank would be restored.

“It was the hardest period of my career as a soldier but somehow I managed hoping that a day very soon my rank would be given back to me,” he recalled.

However, after waiting for over a year and reaching out to senior officers without any response, Jojor said he was left heartbroken.

“I started texting frequently almost all the big men in the Army that I could reach to remind them of my case, but they did not say anything till today,” he said.

He concluded that the trauma eventually forced him to quit the Army, saying, “So the pain and embarrassment was too much for me to bear. I was afraid of my mental health.”

The post ended with a call for justice and a bold declaration: “It's just disheartening that after all my years in the Army I had to leave without anything. So many soldiers are going through this and more, but I know they are afraid to speak up.”

He said, “For more than a year nothing was said about my rank. I started texting frequently almost all the big men in the Army that I could reach to remind them of my case, but they did not say anything till today.

“I was heartbroken and demoralized. Sometimes I cried seeing my coursemates and even most of my juniors wearing ranks on their chest and mine was empty, meaning I've suddenly became their junior.

“I know after seeing this the Nigerian Army would probably come after me, but I'm no longer afraid of death. And I won't even start hiding after this cuz me speaking up for my right is not an offence. And I know they would also come out to deny this, but I'm ready to prove this.”

The post ended with a call for justice and a bold declaration: “It's just disheartening that after all my years in the Army I had to leave without anything. So many soldiers are going through this and more, but I know they are afraid to speak up.”

Efforts to get a reaction from the Nigerian Army have proven unsuccessful.

SaharaReporters reached out to the Army spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Onyinyechi Anele, but she neither answered calls nor responded to messages.

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