The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has revealed that Nigerian soldiers now earn a minimum monthly salary of N100,000, up from N49,000, alongside improved feeding, despite persistent funding challenges facing the military.
Speaking during an interview on News Central on Thursday, July 9 as Monitored by The News Chronicle, Musa said the Federal Government had significantly improved the welfare of troops, even though the armed forces remain underfunded.
“When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard. Now he’s collecting N100,000,” he said.
The minister also dismissed claims that troops fighting insurgency are poorly fed, describing such reports as misleading.
Referring to a viral video by social media critic Justice Crack, who was later arrested and prosecuted, Musa alleged that the content was deliberately manipulated to create a false impression.
“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.
On the recent abduction of pupils in Oyo State, the defence minister described the incident as tragic, alleging that the kidnappers were using the children as bargaining chips to secure the release of some of their detained commanders.
“It’s a very sad event. Unfortunately, bad things do happen. They are looking for leverage because we have some of their commanders with us, and they believe taking these children hostage will force us to release them,” he said.
Musa further disclosed 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,” he added.
