Protest Hits Abuja Amid Anger, 'Deprivation', Photos Emerge
- Retired military personnel resumed their protest today, Tuesday, January 7, demanding the payment of outstanding entitlements
- The retirees, who had previously shut down the ministry of finance in December 2024 over unpaid benefits, claim the government has failed to fulfil its promise of settling their dues
- Their grievances include a 20%-28% salary increment for the period between January and November 2024, unpaid palliatives from October 2023 to November 2024, and an additional N32,000 pension increment
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering metro.
FCT, Abuja - Angry retired military personnel on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, staged a protest by blocking the entrance to the ministry of finance in Abuja.
As reported by The Guardian, the disgruntled former military employees blocked the ministry's entrance with canopies and chairs, demanding the immediate settlement of their long-pending entitlements.
Source: Twitter
The Punch also noted the development.
The demonstration marks a continuation of their previous action in December 2024, where the retirees had also shut down the ministry in frustration over the government's failure to fulfil their claims.
The retirees are pressing for the disbursement of various long-overdue benefits, including palliatives for the period from October 2023 to November 2024.
They are also calling for an increase of N32,000 to their pensions, a lump sum payment of the Security Debarment Allowance and a refund of pension deductions taken from the salaries of soldiers who were medically discharged.
Retired military personnel express displeasure in Abuja
Following the retirees' December protests, the federal government paid 50% of the outstanding entitlements and assured them that the remaining balance would be settled. However, the retirees assert that the government has not honoured its commitment, leading to the renewal of their protests.
In images seen by Legit.ng, the retirees set up canopies and arranged chairs to block the entrance of the ministry, preventing staff from entering the premises of the finance ministry in Abuja. As a result, many were forced to park their vehicles outside the ministry grounds.
It is common for employees and retirees in the public sector to be owed their entitlements by the government in Nigeria.
In August 2022, BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation, reported that 12 states owed workers salaries and pensions for at least a month, while some have gone on for over six months.
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Abuja woman arrested
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a woman was arrested for allegedly abandoning her one-day-old baby along a bush path in Mpape area of the federal capital territory (FCT) Abuja.
The FCT police public relations officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said the abandoned baby was rescued near Crush Rock, behind an uncompleted Red Bricks Market. Adeh added that operatives from Mpape Division’s Juvenile and Women Care Section (JWC) rescued the baby following a distress call that a baby was found wrapped in a cloth.
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Source: Legit.ng
