The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has disclosed that Nigerian soldiers now earn a minimum monthly salary of N100,000, following a recent welfare review by the Federal Government aimed at improving the living conditions of military personnel.
Musa made the revelation during an interview with News Central on Wednesday, ahead of the broadcast of the station’s NC Exclusive programme scheduled for Friday.
According to the minister, the salary increase represents a significant improvement from the previous minimum monthly pay of N49,000 received by soldiers.
“When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard, now he’s collecting N100,000,” he said.
Despite the improvement in welfare, Musa acknowledged that the Nigerian military remains inadequately funded.
Responding to a question on whether the current defence budget was sufficient to meet the country’s security demands, he replied, “It’s not enough.”
The minister also called for tougher legislation against kidnappers, advocating the introduction of the death penalty as a deterrent to the rising wave of abductions across the country.
“I think we should do that. There must be deterrence. The laws are soft, and that’s why people take advantage. If they know once you commit an offence, there must be punishment,” Musa stated.
Speaking on the recent abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State, the Defence Minister described the incident as unfortunate, alleging that the kidnappers were using the victims as leverage to demand the release of some of their detained commanders.
“You know, it’s a very sad event. Unfortunately, bad things do happen. For whatever reason, they are looking for leverage because we have some of their commanders with us, and they feel taking these kids and holding them to ransom will make us release their commander,” he said.
He further revealed that the abductors had threatened to kill the children if security forces intensified rescue efforts.
“They are now threatening that if we come any closer, they’re going to kill all the kids,” Musa added.
Addressing allegations of poor feeding within the military, the minister dismissed the claims as misleading, insisting that soldiers were adequately catered for.
He referenced an incident involving a military officer identified as Justice Crack, alleging that the officer deliberately removed food items from soldiers’ meals to create a false impression that they were being poorly fed.
“The soldier’s food was okay. There was meat and other items, but he told them to pull out those things and make it look as if they were not there,” Musa said.
The minister reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of military personnel while strengthening security operations across the country, even as he stressed the need for increased funding and stronger legal measures to combat insecurity.
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