A group of discharged Nigerian soldiers have on Thursday, resumed protests in Abuja, demanding the payment of their entitlements.
The ex-soldiers had called off their protest on August 4, after meeting with officials of the Ministries of Defence and Finance, who assured them that their outstanding entitlements would be paid by August 10.
However, the soldiers said they did not receive their entitlements after the set date passed and even more.
They are demanding immediate payment of outstanding gratuity balances, Security Debarment Allowance (SDA), and parking allowances allegedly withheld since their disengagement from the Nigerian Armed Forces.
On Thursday, 4th September, 2025, they converged on the Ministry of Finance headquarters in the Federal capital Territory (FCT), accusing the authorities of neglect and failure to honour promises made after their meeting last month.
Speaking to journalists, one of the protesters, identified simply as Mama G, said they were forced to return to the streets after previous assurances yielded no results.
She said; “We are here because the promises made to us were never fulfilled. We had no choice but to return to the streets. This time around, the protest will be massive.”
Another protest leader, Umar Faruq (Retired Corporal), who also identified as an engineer, accused the Military Pensions Board of deliberate neglect.
According to him, the Board informed them that they were not entitled to benefit from the new national minimum wage adjustments because they were discharged on July 1, 2024.
Also speaking, Mohamed Kabiru, a retired Sergeant, another protester, said;
“They didn’t pay us our full money. They promised parking allowance, they didn’t pay it. We gave our lives for this country, yet we are treated like we don’t matter.”
The servicemen and women talented that after several years of serving the country and suffering injuries, “sometimes we carry iron in our body from injuries sustained while in service,” the government rather pays athletes.
“But they pay millions to athletes for 90 minutes of play and ignore us who risked everything,” Kabiru cried.
The Ministry of Defence, Defence Headquarters and Military Pension Board have yet to issue an official response as of the time of filing this report.
Details Later …
