The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has said Nigerian soldiers now earn a minimum monthly salary of N100,000 following a recent review of their welfare by the Federal Government.
Musa disclosed this during an interview on News Central on Wednesday, ahead of its broadcast on the NC Exclusive programme on Friday.
The former Chief of Defence Staff also stated that the military remained underfunded despite the improvement in personnel welfare.
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.
“The soldier’s food was okay. There was meat; there was all this. But he told them to pull out those things and make it look as if those things were not there,” the minister said.
