The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), says the Federal Government has increased the minimum monthly salary of Nigerian soldiers to N100,000 as part of efforts to improve their welfare. GeographicReference

Musa disclosed this in an interview with News Central ahead of the broadcast of its ‘NC Exclusive’ programme on Friday.

Despite the salary review, the minister said the military remained underfunded.

Responding to a question on whether the current defence budget was adequate, he replied: “It’s not enough.”

He said the government had made significant progress in improving the welfare of military personnel, particularly through salary adjustments.

“When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard; now he’s collecting N100,000,” Musa said.

The minister also advocated tougher penalties for kidnapping, saying stronger sanctions would serve as a deterrent.

“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 pupils in Oyo State, Musa described the incident as unfortunate and said the kidnappers were seeking leverage by demanding the release of some detained commanders.

According to him, the abductors also threatened to harm the children if security operatives attempted a rescue.

Musa also rejected allegations of poor feeding within the military, describing reports circulating in the public space as misleading.

Referring to an incident involving a military officer identified as Justice Crack, the minister alleged that the officer deliberately presented an inaccurate picture of the 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,” he said.