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HomeUncategorizedNigerian Army allegedly suspends voluntary retirement of soldiers

Nigerian Army allegedly suspends voluntary retirement of soldiers

Nigerian Army allegedly suspends voluntary retirement of soldiers

The Nigerian army has reportedly suspended approvals for voluntary
retirement requests from soldiers, over the alleged mass application by
several military personnel to quit service.

In an internal memo which was sent out in late March and made
available to Premium Times, the Nigerian army disclosed that all forms
9B (military retirement application document) have been suspended and
would no longer be made available to soldiers willing to voluntarily
discharge from service.

Though the number of voluntary retirement applications the Nigerian
army has gotten so far was not revealed in the memo, top military
officers were counselled for allowing “frivolous” voluntary retirement
applications to advance through the chain of command when they should
have been rejected at the early stages.

While the spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, Sagir Musa did not
confirm or deny the memo, a military source disclosed that most soldiers
who have left service or have filed requests to leave had served
multiple tours in the northeast as part of the Boko Haram war.

He said;

“Our men are giving up on the war for many reasons that are not
limited to poor equipment supplies and the lack of empathy they keep
seeing from their top commanders. The soldiers have been asked over and
again to remain in service for the defence of their fatherland, but
their hope has been waning.

“Many of them have been trapped in the northeast for years and they
just want to return to their families and look for another career path
away from the military.”

Some soldiers have however protested against suspension of voluntary
retirement by the Nigerian army. In a petition which was released on
April 4 and has been circulating on WhatsApp groups of military
personnel, a lance corporal argued that the military can only invite a
soldier filing for retirement “for interview, guidance and counselling
or career review,” but cannot block it “if the soldier insisted” on
proceeding with the retirement “application.”

He added;

“A soldier who voluntarily joined the service without any duress is
now being compelled to remain in the service even against his wish. With
all due respect sir, this is unacceptable.”

It is however not clear if the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai has received the petition and ordered action on it.

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