By Akinwale Kasali
The demotion of Matilda Anighoro, a retired Army Nurse over allegations of se*ual harassment she made against Brigadier General Samson Okoigi was authorized Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, COAS.
Anighoro was according to the Army, found guilty of “disobedience to standing orders”,as there was no proof to her allegation.
FIJ, an investigative News Platform, had, earlier, reported how Anighoro voluntarily exited military service.
She had told FIJ that her decision followed persistent se*ual harassment by Okoigi, then Acting Corps Commander of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps, and the Military’s failure to protect her.
Recall that FIJ had petitioned against the Army’s High Command in February to the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC,
highlighting that Anighoro had been unable to access her retirement benefits despite exiting service.
Following the FIJ publication on the issue, the COAS responded to the allegation four months after in a letter with reference number HQ DLS/A/G1/300/56 and signed by Lieutenant VL Williams, and disclosed that Anighoro was charged on five counts “bordering on Disobedience to Standing Orders, Offences in relation to Sentry Duties, Insubordinate Behaviour and Conduct to Prejudice of Service Discipline, among other offences, all punishable under the Armed Forces Act”.
The statement reads;
“She was subsequently summarily tried and awarded punishment of Reduction in rank from Corporal to Lance Corporal on Count One and from Lance Corporal to Private in respect of Count 2, with effect from 29 February 2024.
“Consequently, all required documents reflecting her revised rank were forwarded by Army Headquarters Department of Personnel Management (AHQ DPM) to Defence Headquarters and the Military Pension Board (MPB) for the processing and payment of her benefits.
“Surprisingly, the Complainant failed to collect her discharge certificate and record of service from AHQ DPM as required. Instead, she resorted to social media to express grievances and malign the NA. Findings further revealed that she subsequently reported to AHQ DPM on 29 April 2026 but declined to collect the discharge certificate due to the change in rank and thereafter proceeded outside the complex to record a video clip apparently aimed at further disparaging the image of the NA.
“It is important to state that the Complainant’s allegation that her discharge certificate and service records have not been released to her is false, misconceived, and made in bad faith as investigation revealed that all her documents were ready for collection since 2024.”
The statement concluded by saying that Anighoro’s discharge certificate and service records, reflecting her demotion, were ready for collection.
“Furthermore, the trial of the Complainant, which resulted in her reduction in rank was properly conducted and in accordance with extant military law and established practice.
“Hence the Complainant’s substantive rank on retirement was a Private and not Corporal,” Williams added.
But contrary to the army’s official position, Anighoro’s discharge approval carried her Corporal rank and she received her last salary in January 2025 based on this rank.
It was, however, gathered from sources in the NHRC that the Army’s claims and assertions appeared inconsistent with the official records and subsequent administrative actions of the Nigerian Army.
The Commission had said that Anighoro has the constitutional rights to fair hearing, and that the Army’s purported punishment of Anighoro was not consistently reflected in all official military records and administrative actions.
Rather, the official records available presented material contradictions to the Army Headquarters’ position.
The NHRC further added that approximately seven months after the purported reduction in rank, the COAS approved Anighoro’s Voluntary Discharge (Batch B 2024) in the rank of Corporal.
She continued to receive the salary and allowances of a Corporal until January 2025.
Her Security Disbandment (SD) entitlement was computed and paid based on the rank of Corporal, and her official Military Identity Card continues to bear the rank of Corporal.
However, in the army’s June response, a copy of Part II Orders was attached, in which the Commission said after reviewe, it found that the document recorded no conviction, reduction in rank, or punishment corresponding with the Army’s response.
The NHRC further probed why no corresponding entry in the Part II Orders or other official military records documented the punishment.
And if the reduction took effect on February 29, 2024, why then did the Army Chief subsequently approve her voluntary discharge in the rank of corporal?
Another poser raised by the Commission was why the Army paid her in the rank of Corporal until her exit and also paid part of her entitlements in that rank.
Furthermore, the Commission asked the army to produce the complete documentary record of the alleged disciplinary proceedings, including the charge sheet, the record of proceedings; the findings of the trial; the award of punishment; the confirming or reviewing authority’s approval; the relevant Part II Orders reflecting the reduction in rank; and any other official documents relied upon in asserting that Anighoro was lawfully demoted.
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