Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
Security agencies mounted a heavy presence around the Ministry of Defence in Abuja on Wednesday ahead of a planned protest by military retirees demanding the implementation of pension adjustments linked to salary increases for serving personnel.
Personnel of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Vehicle Inspection Office were deployed around the ministry, with security operatives positioned along major access roads to the area.
As of the time of filing this report, the protest had not commenced despite the gathering of security personnel at the venue.
The retirees are seeking the implementation of consequential pension adjustments following salary increases approved for serving military personnel.
One of the leaders of the group, Col. Innocent Azubike (retd.), said the demonstration was aimed at pressing for what he described as the constitutional pension rights of retired military officers.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu approved a salary increase for military personnel in November 2025, a decision he said should have automatically translated into a corresponding pension adjustment for retirees.
“We have a protest on Wednesday at the Ministry of Defence to demand our constitutional pension rights,” Azubike said.
“In November last year, the President approved a new pay increase for the military, and it came with a consequential adjustment for retirees and pensioners. It was in the news throughout that November, and the high military authorities repeatedly thanked the President for the gesture.”
He alleged that the pension adjustment had yet to be implemented despite previous acknowledgements of the approval by military authorities.
Azubike also raised concerns over another military salary increase announced in August 2026, which is expected to take effect in September.
“Another military salary increase was announced this August, totally ignoring that of last year. The new announcement is supposed to start implementation in September,” he said.
“They have computed the fund requirement for implementing this second announcement of pay increase. In their computation, they excluded pensioners and the consequential adjustment of pensioners’ pensions. That is the main issue we are protesting.”
He warned that failure to implement the pension adjustment could create disparities between retirees of the same rank and years of service, as personnel retiring under the new salary structure could receive significantly higher pensions than those who retired earlier.
