NIGERIA – Three days after he vanished, the family of social activist Justice Mark Chidiebere, popularly known online as “Justice Crack,” is still searching for answers. The 37-year-old father and vocal government critic left his Abuja home on April 28 for a mysterious meeting and has not been seen since – his last known location traced to a military-controlled area in the nation’s capital.
But as the search widens, disturbing allegations have emerged linking his disappearance to Brigadier General W.A. Adegoke and a high-level attempt by the Nigerian Army to silence revelations about what frontline soldiers are actually eating – or not eating – as they battle terrorists in the country’s most dangerous war zones.
A VOICE THAT CUT TOO DEEP
Justice Crack was no ordinary social media commentator. In the weeks before his disappearance, his videos had struck a raw nerve within military circles. With graphic testimony from serving soldiers and photographic evidence, he exposed three uncomfortable truths the army would rather keep hidden:
- Rancid rations – Soldiers in the North-East reportedly being fed mouldy biscuits, expired noodles, and rice crawling with weevils
- Starvation wages – Frontline troops earning as little as N109,000 monthly while risking death daily
- A suspicious death – The killing of 24-year-old NYSC corps member Abdulsamad Jamiu, whose family insists the army’s “crossfire” story is a lie
“Justice Crack was doing what no mainstream journalist would dare,” said a fellow activist who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He was naming names, showing faces, and forcing Nigerians to see what their soldiers are enduring. And that made him a target.”
THE LAST CALL
At approximately 12:00 PM on April 28, Justice Crack received a phone call. He told his wife, Theresa Chidera Mark, that he was stepping out for a meeting. Before leaving, he asked a friend to pick up his children from school – a small but telling detail suggesting he planned to return.
By 5:00 PM, his phone’s last location pinged near the NAOWA Shopping Complex in Asokoro – a stone’s throw from the State House Clinic and the Nigerian Army War College. Then, silence. Both phones switched off. Calls went unanswered.
THE GENERAL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Attention has increasingly focused on Brigadier General W.A. Adegoke, a senior officer whose name has surfaced repeatedly in connection with Justice Crack’s disappearance.
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has publicly alleged that Adegoke ordered the activist’s arrest. Online sleuths claim Justice Crack’s vehicle was sighted at the Defence Intelligence Agency premises after his disappearance.
Adegoke, who was promoted to his current rank in late 2024, has not publicly responded to the allegations. The Nigerian Army has issued no official statement confirming or denying that Justice Crack is in custody.
THE HUNGER THEY WANT TO HIDE
But the deeper scandal – the one Justice Crack was exposing before he vanished – has nothing to do with social media activism and everything to do with how Nigeria treats its uniformed heroes.
Multiple sources, including current and former soldiers, have corroborated Justice Crack’s claims:
| Allegation | Source |
| Soldiers buy own uniforms (N55,000) and boots (N60,000) | Dismissed Lance Corporal Rotimi Olamilekan (“Soja Boi”) |
| “If you see the food they give to soldiers in battlefield, you won’t even give it to your dog” | Former soldier Emmanuel Odaudu (10 years service) |
| Soldiers sleep on bare bunks without mattresses; N5,000 weekly allowance withheld for weeks | Current soldiers at NATRAC, Kontagora (anonymous) |
| N3,000 daily feeding allowance “not enough” given food price inflation | Retired Brigadier General S.K. Usman |
“These are men and women who volunteer to face Boko Haram, ISWAP, bandits – the worst killers this country has ever seen,” said a retired senior officer. “And what do they get? Expired biscuits. Promises of allowances that never come. Salaries that don’t cover transport to their own postings. It’s a national disgrace.”
THE CORPER’S DEATH THAT WON’T BE EXPLAINED
The second thread of Justice Crack’s activism concerned the death of Abdulsamad Jamiu, a 24-year-old NYSC corps member killed on April 26 during a military operation in Dei-Dei, Abuja.
The army’s official statement claimed Jamiu was “caught in the crossfire” while troops responded to an armed robbery distress call. But his family has rejected this account outright.
“Physical evidence disproves an exchange of gunfire,” Jamiu’s father insisted. The NYSC itself expressed “profound concern and sorrow” and confirmed it is “actively engaging with relevant security agencies to ascertain the full circumstances.”
Justice Crack publicly questioned the army’s narrative. Within 48 hours, he was gone.
HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS DEMAND ANSWERS
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has condemned the authorities’ silence in strong terms:
“The absence of information, combined with the circumstances of his disappearance, raises serious fears of enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, or abduction.”
RULAAC has demanded that security agencies immediately disclose Justice Crack’s whereabouts, grant him access to lawyers and family if in custody, or release him if unlawfully detained.
“Enforced disappearance is not only a grave human rights violation, it is an assault on the rule of law itself,” the group added. “Nothing must happen to him.”
POLICE INVESTIGATION: PROGRESS OR STALL?
According to Justice Crack’s associate, Peter Akah, the FCT Police Command has engaged with the family and reportedly tracked the activist’s phone to the NAOWA/State House Clinic/Army War College area.
However, as of May 1, 2026, no official update has been released. The police have neither confirmed an arrest nor exonerated any individual or agency.
WHAT THE ARMY HAS – AND HASN’T – SAID
| Question | Official Answer |
| Is Justice Crack in military custody? | No official statement |
| Did Brig. Gen. Adegoke order his arrest? | No official statement |
| Who called Justice Crack before he left home? | No official statement |
| Will the army investigate poor feeding allegations? | No official statement |
The silence is deafening.
BROADER IMPLICATIONS
This case sits at the intersection of three crises facing the Nigerian military establishment:
1. A welfare crisis – Soldiers fighting a grinding counterinsurgency while worrying about feeding their own families
2. A credibility crisis – Public disbelief in official narratives, whether about corps member deaths or disappeared activists
3. A rights crisis – Growing evidence that dissent is being met with detention, disappearance, and denial
“If the army has nothing to hide, they should produce Justice Crack – alive, unharmed, and before a magistrate,” said a legal practitioner familiar with the case. “If they cannot, Nigerians must ask themselves: what kind of military operates in the shadows, silencing citizens without charge or trial?”
CALL TO ACTION
Justice Crack’s family has appealed to the public for any information about his whereabouts. His wife, Theresa, can be reached through the FCT Police Command.
Human rights organisations, including RULAAC, are monitoring the case and have offered assistance.
Lawyers have begun exploring legal options, including petitions for a writ of habeas corpus to compel any detention authority to produce him in court.
CONCLUSION
Brigadier General W.A. Adegoke has not been formally charged with any wrongdoing. The Nigerian Army has not confirmed arresting anyone. Justice Crack could, in theory, walk through his front door tomorrow with an explanation that resolves all questions.
But until that happens – until the phones switch back on, until the man returns to his wife and children, until Nigeria’s soldiers are fed properly and its citizens can question authority without fear – the shadows will only deepen.
And Nigerians will keep asking: what is Brigadier General W.A. Adegoke hiding?
If you have information about Justice Mark Chidiebere’s whereabouts, please contact the nearest police station or human rights organisation immediately.
