Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, has ordered the release of the female soldier, Private Sofiyat Akinlabi, who publicly got engaged to a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the Yikpata Orientation Camp in Kwara State.
The release by General Yahaya is in the spirit of the Christmas, the season of love.
However, it was learnt that the female soldier was admonished to henceforth obey all the ethics of the military profession and to shun indiscipline.
The Nigerian Army had immediately detained the female Private soldier for publicly accepting a marriage proposal from a male member of the NYSC, which went viral all across Social Media platforms.
The detention had generated an outrage, with human rights lawyers accusing the Nigerian Army of violating the rights of the detained soldier.
The public marriage proposal actually took place at the Passing Out Parade (POP) of Batch B, Stream 2 of the 2021 Corp Members penultimate Tuesday.
Under the Terms and Conditions of Service in the Army, every recruit must stay single for the first three years of service, meaning that marriage is banned for such category of personnel.
In the now viral video, the Corp Member is seen on his knees, asking for the female soldier’s hand in marriage, amidst cheers from other visibly excited Corp members in the background.
The female Soldier accepted the proposal, got the ring fixed on her finger while they sealed the romantic display with a deep kiss bear hugs, amidst intermittent blushes.
However, the Nigeria Army, through a Signal, stated that the soldier has been identified and detained at a Military detention facility in Ilorin, pending further investigations.
Captain MM Abdulahi, the Kwara State NYSC Camp Commandant, in the Signal, said the female soldier had intentionally isolated herself from other soldiers before the act.