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May 24, 2024
An independent investigation by SaharaReporters revealed the commander’s wife as Mrs. Nneka Shirley Adetuyi.
A Nigerian female soldier accused of stealing gold jewellery said to be worth N35 million from an army general’s wife she was attached to and subsequently dismissed only acted as “an intermediary between the jeweller involved and the military officer’s son who actually stole the jewellery,” a source familiar with the incident has said.
SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported that sources in the army identified the female soldier as Lance Corporal Jonah Comfort with service number 15NA/74/4422F.
The offence was reportedly committed earlier in May. She was accused of entering the senior officer’s room and stealing the jewellery.
The jewellery was subsequently sold to a jeweller for N5 million.
However, the source described the narrative that Lance Cpl Jonah Comfort stole the jewellery as distorted and malicious.
According to the source, Comfort was a tea girl to the Commander, 9 Brigade of the Nigeria Army.
The Commander of Ikeja Cantonment, Lagos is Brig.-Gen. Adegoke Adetuyi.
An Independent investigation by SaharaReporters revealed the commander’s wife as Mrs. Nneka Shirley Adetuyi.
The source said, “As a person familiar with the true series of events, I find it imperative to set the record straight and shed light on the actual course of events that transpired.
“Contrary to the fabricated story, Lance Cpl Jonah Comfort was wrongfully accused, tried, and dismissed from the Nigerian Army for alleged theft of a gold wristwatch belonging to the wife of 9 Brigade commander.
“The truth is that Comfort merely acted as an intermediary between the officer's son and a buyer for the wristwatch.
“In reality, the officer's son, unbeknownst to her parents, sought to sell a wristwatch that belonged to her mother. Upon learning of Comfort's acquaintance with a buyer, the daughter approached her, and Comfort, acting in good faith, connected the two parties. The son and the buyer independently negotiated and completed the transaction without any involvement from Comfort beyond the initial introduction.
“Tragically, instead of addressing the delinquent behavior of their son, the officer and his wife chose to misuse their positions of authority to shift the blame onto Comfort.
“The wristwatch's disappearance was deceitfully linked to Comfort, leading to her arrest, and ultimately, her unjust dismissal on May 17, 2024.
“Comfort's family, friends, and colleagues are still utterly shocked and dismayed by this miscarriage of justice.
“Many firmly believe that ‘something must have gone wrong somewhere’ for such a gross manipulation of the truth to occur.
“This egregious misuse of power not only harms Comfort's reputation but undermines the integrity of the entire Nigerian Army.”
In the interest of justice and fairness, the source implored the army to investigate and punish those responsible for the fabrication of the story.
“It is crucial that Comfort's name be cleared, and those responsible for the fabrication of this story be held accountable,” the source added.
Efforts made by SaharaReporters to reach the army spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu for comments failed as he did not answer his calls or reply to a text message sent to him.