Nigerian soldiers now receive N100,000 monthly, says Defence Minister

Christopher Musa, who is the Minister of Defence, has been quoted saying that the monthly salary of the Nigerian soldiers has been increased to at least N100,000 as a result of a recent review of the welfare of the soldiers by the federal government.

This was revealed by the minister in an interview conducted on News Central and aired on Friday.

The minister was also the former Chief of Defence Staff in Nigeria.

Responding to a question on whether the current defence budget was adequate, the minister replied, “It’s not enough.”

He, however, said the Federal Government had significantly improved soldiers’ salaries.

“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 advocated the introduction of the death penalty for kidnappers, saying stiffer punishment was needed to curb the growing 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 said.

Commenting on the recent abduction of pupils in Oyo State, the minister described the incident as unfortunate, alleging that the kidnappers were attempting to force the military to release 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.

According to him, the abductors also threatened to kill the children if security forces intensified rescue operations.

“They are now threatening that if we come any closer, they’re going to kill all the kids,” he added.

Musa also dismissed allegations of poor feeding in the military, insisting that claims circulating in the public space were misleading.

Referring to an incident involving a military officer identified as Justice Crack, he claimed that the officer deliberately created a false impression about the quality of meals served to soldiers.