Minister of defence, Christopher Musa, has said the federal government has raised the minimum monthly salary of Nigerian soldiers from N49,000 to N100,000 to improve their welfare.
Musa disclosed this on Wednesday during an interview with News Central ahead of the broadcast of its NC Exclusive programme on Friday.
He stated that the military remains underfunded despite the improvement in personnel welfare.
“When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard; now he’s collecting N100,000,” he said.
While acknowledging that the present defence budget is not adequate, Musa said the President Bola Tinubu-led administration has increased military personnel’s salaries.
He also advocated for the death penalty for kidnappers, saying stiffer punishment is needed to deter the rising incidence 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.
Speaking on the recent abduction of school children in Oyo state, the defence minister labelled the incident as unfortunate, alleging that the kidnappers were attempting to pressure the military into releasing 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.
“They are now threatening that if we come any closer, they’re going to kill all the kids,” he added.
Musa further rubbished allegations that soldiers are poorly fed, insisting that claims making the round in the public space are misleading.
