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Military Veterans Lay Siege To Pension Board Over Underpayment

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‎Military veterans have protested over alleged underpayment of their pensions, demanding an urgent recalculation of their entitlements in line with approved adjustments to the salaries of serving military personnel.

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‎The protesters, led by Lt. Col. Innocent Azubuike, coordinator of the Veterans Association of Nigeria, stormed the Military Pensions Board in Abuja, on Tuesday morning.

They accused the board of using a pension computation formula that allegedly reduced the percentage increases approved for retired personnel.
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‎Speaking during the protest on Tuesday, Azubuike said the approved adjustments provided for an 80 per cent increase for personnel from the rank of private to staff sergeant, 50 per cent for warrant officers to colonels, and 30 per cent for brigadier generals and higher ranks.
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‎He alleged that the board failed to apply the approved percentages directly to the pensions veterans were already receiving, instead using a calculation method that reduced their entitlements.
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‎“We have gotten presidential approval for the consequential allowance on the percentages allotted to various rank categories,” he said.
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‎“Now, in paying us this consequential adjustment, Pension Board did not pay this very approved percentage.”
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‎Azubuike said the veterans had earlier approached the Ministry of Defence in August to demand the inclusion of retired personnel in the salary-related adjustments after discovering that they had initially been excluded.
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‎According to him, the ministry acknowledged the omission and subsequently included them in the approved adjustments.
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‎However, he accused the Military Pensions Board of introducing a calculation method that allegedly undermined the approved increases, despite the fact that the pension rates of retirees had already been determined by their ranks and years of service at retirement.
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‎He argued that the approved percentage should apply to the pension each retiree was receiving before the adjustment, rather than being subjected to another calculation based on the conditions under which the individual retired.
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‎“Even though it’s short-changing the criteria, it’s short-changing military veterans, but that criteria wasn’t still followed,” he said.

“We are about 100,000 military veterans,” he said, adding that he had records to support the allegations of discrepancies in pension payments.
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‎Another protester, Master Warrant Officer Duru Augustine, said the alleged underpayment had left retired personnel feeling betrayed after years of service to the country.
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‎“Honestly, honestly, it’s bad. Having in your own constituency, being treated like a slave,” Augustine said.
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‎He maintained that the dispute concerned the implementation of approved pension adjustments, which he said veterans had fought to secure after discovering that retired personnel were initially excluded.
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‎Augustine recalled that the veterans protested on August 19, after which, according to him, the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, acknowledged their concerns and supported their inclusion in the adjustment.
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‎He said the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had also provided a chart explaining the calculations, arguing that the board should implement the approved percentages rather than introduce a different method.
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‎“It’s an insult to the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It’s an insult to the capacity of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, for him to go back and do whatever he feels like doing,” he said, referring to the alleged departure from the approved adjustment framework.

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Okada Thief Impersonating Police Inspector Arrested

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A suspected motorcycle thief allegedly impersonating a police inspector has been arrested in Adamawa State.

 

The state Police Command said 36-year-old Habila Ibrahim was arrested over an alleged attempt to steal a motorcycle and impersonate a police inspector in Girei Local Government Area.

The Command said: “On 10th October 2026, operatives of Girei Divisional Police Headquarters, while on crime-prevention patrol along the Girei–Yola Road, responded to a distress call and intercepted the suspect while attempting to steal a Boxer motorcycle belonging to Alhaji Musa of Wuro Dole, Girei.”

In a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Nguroje, the Command said one complete police uniform and a master key suspected to have been used for motorcycle theft were recovered from the suspect.

“During initial interrogation, he identified himself as Inspector Yakubu Yusuf, claiming to be attached to the Border Patrol Unit at the Sahuda–Cameroon border, in an attempt to evade arrest. He was found in possession of a fake police warrant card and a complete police uniform,” the statement said.

The police added that further investigation revealed that the suspect’s real identity was Habila Ibrahim, reportedly from Blue House, Kasuwan Gada, Vimtim, Mubi North Local Government Area.

“He is suspected to have been involved in motorcycle theft and impersonating security personnel to facilitate theft and defraud members of the public within Girei, Mubi North and Mubi South Local Government Areas,” the statement added.

The Command said the suspect would remain in police custody and be charged in court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

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Police Arrest 4 Cultists, Recover Locally Made Gun In Lagos

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Lagos State Police Command has arrested four suspected cultists allegedly terrorising the Lekki, Ajah and Elemoro areas of the state.

 

The suspects were apprehended between October 2 and 9, 2026 following intelligence received by police operatives, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the command’s spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi.

The arrested suspects were identified as Arisekola Ojo, 32, Oluwatobi Oyewole, 29, Oluwaseyi Odunewu, 32 and Olumagba Ifatope, 29. They are being investigated over alleged conspiracy and membership of an unlawful society.

The police said investigations led to the recovery of a locally made cut-to-size gun during a search of Odunewu’s residence, following information obtained from the suspects.

According to the command, the suspects have made statements considered useful to the investigation, while efforts are ongoing to track down other individuals allegedly connected to the crimes and recover additional firearms.

The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Tijani Fatai, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to dismantling cult groups and other criminal networks operating across the state.

Fatai warned those involved in cultism and other criminal activities to desist or face the full consequences of the law. He also urged residents to provide the police with credible and timely information to help improve security in their communities.

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Attacks: Catholic Church Shuts Schools, Hospitals In Benue

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The Catholic Diocese of Gboko, Benue State, has ordered the suspension of church institutions, including schools and hospitals, in Ihugh, Vandeikya Local Government Area, LGA, over repeated attacks, arson, burglary and alleged harassment of its personnel.

 

The affected institutions are St Winifred Secondary School, St Winifred Nursery and Primary School, St Thomas Hospital, including Salus Mind Care Center and its chaplaincy, and St Winifred Parish.

The Diocese also ordered the withdrawal of priests, Reverend Sisters, teachers, medical personnel and other workers from the institutions, effective October 12, 2026, until further notice.

Ihugh is the hometown of Governor Hyacinth Alia.

The decision was contained in a pastoral letter and decree signed by the Bishop, Most Rev. William Avenya, and the Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Marcellinus Wende.

The Diocese said the decision followed repeated attacks, including the burning of St Winifred Secondary School students’ hostels on October 28, 2025; May 10; May 15; and October 11, 2026.

In the letter, it stated: “Over a considerable period, the Catholic institutions in Ihugh have suffered repeated disturbances, attacks and acts of destruction.

“Among these were the recent burning down of the students’ hostels of St Winifred Secondary School, Hugh, on October 28th, 2025; May 10th, 2026; May 15th, 2026; and October 11th, 2026, acts that have destroyed the shelter of young people entrusted to our care, wiped out the labour and sacrifices of many years, and placed the lives and safety of students, teachers, and staff in grave danger.”

It also cited persistent burglaries at St Winifred Parish and criminal incidents at St Thomas Hospital.

The Diocese recalled that during the hospital’s reopening on June 21, 2024, some residents allegedly displayed placards and chanted slogans demanding the withdrawal of the Reverend Sisters.

“The persistent burning down of St Winifred Secondary School students’ hostels was not an isolated event. The consistent burglary issues in St Winifred Parish, Ihugh, the repeated criminal incidents at St Thomas Hospital, Ihugh, and the hooliganism witnessed during the time of the reopening of St Thomas’ Hospital, Ihugh, on 21st June, 2024, wherein the people of Ihugh openly projected placards and chanting slogans that ‘They no longer want the Reverend Sisters to work in Ihugh’,” the letter stated.

It described the incidents as “a systemic pattern of hostility and destruction directed at church-owned properties, alongside arson and harassment.” Each incident has left behind fear, loss and uncertainty among those who serve and are served by the Church.”

Lamenting that its institutions, established to serve the public, had repeatedly been targeted, it said, “The Church exists to bring life. Our schools, hospital and parish in Ihugh were established for the good of all, irrespective of creed or origin. It is therefore a source of profound grief that works meant for the common good have repeatedly become targets.”

The Diocese said it had engaged the host community, traditional rulers, elders and security authorities in efforts to resolve the crisis.

“The Church does not take the path of withdrawal lightly, nor in haste. The Lord instructs us to be peacemakers, and we have laboured to be so. At every stage we sought dialogue rather than confrontation and reconciliation rather than recrimination.

“The Diocese has met with the host community, engaged the traditional rulers and elders of the land, and brought these grievances before the relevant civil and security authorities, all in the hope of finding a just and lasting peace.

“We have listened, we have appealed, and we have waited patiently. Sadly, these sincere efforts have not yielded the peace, security and guarantees that the continued presence of our institutions requires.”

The Diocese directed the withdrawal of all pastoral and other personnel from the institutions and warned that nobody could resume duties in its name in Ihugh without the Bishop’s written authorisation.

It said students would be assisted to continue their education in other Catholic schools, while patients at St Thomas Hospital would be referred to other health facilities.

The Diocese also declared Friday, October 23, 2026, a day of prayer and fasting for reconciliation. “We invite all the faithful of the Diocese to a season of earnest prayer and penance for the restoration of peace in Ihugh and in all our communities,” the letter stated.

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