Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters owes over 200 soldiers deployed to Guinea-Bissau and Gambia for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission a significant amount of money – N9.2 million ($5,700) each in bonuses, some of the soldiers told SaharaReporters.
The soldiers were deployed as part of the ECOWAS Stabilization Support Mission to restore peace and stability in the West African countries.
Specifically, 177 personnel were sent to Guinea-Bissau and over 100 to Gambia in June 2023, according to the sources. This mission is crucial for regional stability, and it’s alarming that the soldiers haven’t received their due bonuses.
Senegal and Ghana joined Nigeria in deploying troops for the ECOWAS mission, aimed at restoring stability in West Africa. Each soldier was entitled to a $950 monthly bonus from ECOWAS.
However, a soldier who spoke to SaharaReporters revealed that despite the mission concluding in June 2024, they only received three months’ worth of bonuses, leaving six months’ pay outstanding.
He said although Defence Headquarters had pledged to settle the debt during their leave, weeks after their leave ended, they had still not received payment.
“Only a few of us were paid an additional three months, remaining six months’ bonuses. Why the situation is very painful to us is because the soldiers from Senegal and other countries have received all their bonuses. But only Nigerian personnel have not received their bonuses.
“We believe ECOWAS has paid the Defence Headquarters but they have kept giving us excuses,” one of the soldiers told SaharaReporters.
Also, a message sent to SaharaReporters by the affected soldiers reads: “We Nigerian soldiers went for a mission in Gambia and some of us went to Guinea Bissau for one year and we are back to Nigeria.
“Nigerian Army has not paid us our money within 12 months. It is only six months’ allowances that we received and even the six months, not all of us received it. We believe ECOWAS has released our money to the Nigerian Army. Since June when we came back till now, we’ve not been told anything so we don’t know their plan and if we should come out and complain or confront them, it will turn into another thing. Either they frustrate us or have bad plans for us.”
Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Nigerian Army spokesperson, has been unreachable for comment. Despite multiple attempts, he didn’t answer calls or respond to a text message seeking his reaction.
Delays in paying soldiers’ allowances and salaries are unfortunately nothing new in Nigeria. In fact, SaharaReporters recently revealed that the Nigerian Army confirmed President Bola Tinubu’s government delayed paying August salaries and allowances.
The army authorities issued a memo, obtained by SaharaReporters, urging soldiers to be patient and assuring them that efforts were underway to ensure prompt payment of their entitlements.
Some soldiers have complained about stagnant pay scales and no salary increments for several years.
Source: SaharaReporters
