On Wednesday, over 200 ex-military men who served on the Nigerian government’s side during the Nigeria-Biafran War organized a protest to express their dissatisfaction with the non-payment of their pensions over the past 44 years.
The elderly men and women, armed with placards bearing diverse slogans expressing their anguish, demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari look into their matter.
The retired soldiers marched from Ibadan’s Nigerian Legion Secretariat through Yidi, Gate, and the NTA neighborhood, singing as they went.
The National Coordinator, Pa Babawande Philips, who spoke to journalists on behalf of the First Intake Able Voluntary Retired Or Discharged Ten Or More Years in Military Service, said it was sinful and wicked to pay former Biafran troops while abandoning those who fought on Nigeria’s side.
The ex-military guys served directly under Buhari in the military, according to Philips, who believes their former boss is unaware of their condition.
He said, “We have been denied our pensions for the past 44 years and we have done everything to make them pay us but to no avail.
“We have been to court and they asked us to drop the case. They called us for biometrics but to now say they will not pay us because we didn’t spend 15 years in the army is wicked.
“There is a memo of 1977 by the military government that those who spent 10 years and above should be paid pensions. If they are not aware of this, they should search for the memo.”
According to the association’s secretary, Joseph Popoola, many of the members had died.
He also urged Buhari to intercede in their cause so that they might receive compensation.
