The soldier, Obinna John Obasi was stationed in Maiduguri, Borno State before his arrest.
The Nigerian Army has released one of its personnel detained over his video expressing his frustration at being unable to visit his family due to the transport fare.
The soldier, Obinna John Obasi was stationed in Maiduguri, Borno State before his arrest.
Obinna was in February arrested after a video of him lamenting how he spent one year in the bush in Borno and was given a pass to visit his family but could not go because of his N50,000 salary went viral.
“That our brother, that soldier who complained about the transport fare from North East, that's Maiduguri to his state has been released,” a military source told SaharaReporters.
“As we as talking, he is back on duty at the theatre command. They brought him back from SIB Abuja. We can’t but thank SaharaReporters for always standing against the oppress, while others were silent over this issue, it was only SaharaReporters that was putting pressure on the army. Special thanks to some NGO as well and retire navy senior officer who dashed the soldier money after his release.”
The soldier had in a trending video lamented how he spent one year in the bush in Borno and was given a pass to visit his family but could not go because of his N50,000 salary.
He had said he was told at the motor park that the transport fare to his town was N35,000, meaning that the trip would cost him N70,000 to and fro.
Speaking in pidgin English, the soldier had said, "See wahala oo, the Nigerian Army gave me a pass as I spent one year in Maiduguri today, they gave me a pass to go and see my family.
"As I left the bush, I reached the park and they (transporters) told me that from here to my town is N35,000. I calculated it and going and coming back is N70,000 and N50,000 is my salary that I was paid this month.
“I don't have any option again; I'm going back to the bush.”
A few days after the viral video, multiple sources told SaharaReporters that the soldier had been locked up in the "guardroom" after the video was considered embarrassing by the army authorities.
“Our colleague who complained about the transport fare more than his salary has been locked up in the guardroom,” one of the sources had said.
He was subsequently moved to the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police in Abuja where he was kept at the Special Investigation Bureau underground cell.
SIB underground cell is meant for Boko Haram terrorists in the nation’s capital.