Soldiers now earn N100,000; Justice Crack staged food video, says Defence minister

Nigeria's minimum monthly salary for soldiers has been raised to N100,000, up from N49,000, announced the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa. He made this disclosure during an interview with News Central on Wednesday, ahead of a program broadcast on Friday.

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When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard; now he's collecting N100,000.

Musa also addressed allegations of poor feeding conditions within the military. He claimed that a social media influencer, known as Justice Crack, deliberately manipulated videos to portray soldiers as being poorly fed. According to the minister, the influencer instructed soldiers to remove meat and other items from their meals before recording, to create a false impression.

Justice Crack was arrested in March along with some soldiers after posting videos that highlighted alleged poor feeding and welfare conditions. The army stated its investigation indicated the influencer aimed to incite discontent, violating the armed forces' social media policy. While the soldiers remained in military custody, Justice Crack was handed over to civil authorities. He was later granted bail of N5 million by the Federal High Court in Abuja in May, as his trial continues.

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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.

Despite the improvements in personnel welfare, Musa maintained that the Nigerian military continues to face underfunding. Responding to a question about the adequacy of the current defense budget, he stated, "It's not enough."

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It’s not enough.