Minister of Defense, Christopher Musa, has revealed that the federal government 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.
Musa disclosed this during an interview with News Central on Wednesday ahead of the broadcast of its NC Exclusive program scheduled for Friday.
Despite the salary review, the minister admitted that the military remains underfunded, stressing that the current defense budget is insufficient to adequately meet the needs of the armed forces.
Responding to a question on whether the existing budget was enough, Musa simply said, “It’s not enough.”
Highlighting the government’s efforts to enhance the welfare of rank-and-file soldiers, he stated, “When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard; now he’s collecting N100,000.”
The minister also dismissed allegations that Nigerian soldiers are poorly fed, describing claims made by social media influencer Justice Mark Chidiebere, popularly known as Justice Crack, as misleading.
According to Musa, the influencer manipulated the videos circulated online by allegedly instructing soldiers to remove portions of their meals before recording.
The soldiers’ food was okay. There was meat and other things, but he told them to pull them out and make it look like those things were not there,” he alleged.
Justice Crack was arrested in March alongside several soldiers after posting videos alleging poor feeding and welfare conditions within the Nigerian Army.
The Army said its investigation showed that the influencer engaged soldiers in conversations capable of inciting discontent and undermining military discipline, contrary to the Armed Forces’ social media policy.
While the soldiers were kept in military custody, Justice Crack was handed over to civil authorities for further investigation and prosecution over alleged misinformation.
The Army further accused him of encouraging soldiers to misrepresent their welfare conditions in a bid to spread false narratives.
In May, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted Justice Crack bail in the sum of N5 million with one surety as his trial continues.
