ABUJA — The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has “disclosed that the Federal Government has increased the minimum monthly salary of Nigerian soldiers from N49,000 to N100,000 as part of efforts to improve the welfare of military personnel.”
Mr Musa made the disclosure “in a preview clip of an interview scheduled to air on News Central on Wednesday.” Despite the salary increase, “the minister said the Nigerian military remains underfunded, stressing that the current defence budget is inadequate to meet its operational needs.”
Responding to a question on whether the defence allocation was sufficient, he said, “It’s not enough.” “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 called for “the introduction of the death penalty for convicted kidnappers, arguing that tougher sanctions were necessary to stem 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,” he said.
On allegations of poor feeding in military formations, “Mr Musa dismissed the claims as misleading, insisting that soldiers receive adequate meals.” He referred to “an incident involving a military officer identified as Justice Crack, alleging that the officer deliberately removed portions of the food served to soldiers to create the impression that they were 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 those things were not there,” the minister said.