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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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Police Kill Suspect, Recover Two Stolen Vehicles, Items In Ogun

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The Ogun State Police Command has killed a suspected armed robber and recovered two vehicles, a locally made pistol and several items believed to have been stolen during a raid in Ota, Ogun State.

 

The operation took place in the early hours of yesterday at Ijaba, Iyesi, Ota, following a distress call from a resident reporting suspected criminal activity.
According to a statement by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, operatives from the Onipanu Division, under the Ota Area Command, arrived at the scene at about 1.45 a.m. but came under gunfire from the suspected robbers.
The officers reportedly returned fire, killing one of the suspects, while other members of the gang escaped with gunshot injuries.
Babaseyi said a search of the area led to the recovery of a Nissan Almera and a Toyota Camry, alongside several items suspected to have been stolen.

The recovered property included HP and Dell laptops, a PlayStation console, four mobile phones, a Samsung television, a standing fan, a rechargeable radio, a Wi-Fi device, clothing, an OPay ATM card and other household items.
The police also recovered a locally made pistol, two live cartridges and seven spent cartridges from the deceased suspect.
Other items found at the scene included a Tecno mobile phone, three passport photographs, an MTN SIM pack, two National Identification Number (NIN) cards and an undisclosed amount of cash.

The police spokesperson said efforts were ongoing to track down the fleeing suspects, particularly those who might have sustained gunshot injuries.

He added that investigations were also underway to establish the owners of the recovered vehicles and property and determine whether they were connected to other criminal activities.

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Hijab Ban: MURIC Demands Suspension Of Law School Exams , Threatens Protests

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The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for the suspension of examinations at all Nigerian Law School campuses following alleged harassment, intimidation and exclusion of female Muslim students wearing hijab from examination halls.

 

The Islamic human rights organisation also demanded an investigation into the incidents, which reportedly occurred during the final examinations for candidates seeking admission to the Nigerian Bar on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

MURIC warned that it would mobilise parents, Muslim youths and other stakeholders for peaceful protests across Law School campuses nationwide if its demands were not met.

The Nigerian Law School had not responded to the allegations in the statement at the time of writing.

The organisation’s position was contained in a press statement issued on Sunday by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

According to Akintola, several hijab-wearing female candidates were allegedly prevented from entering examination halls in different parts of the country because of their religious attire.

He said some candidates were reportedly made to stand outside examination halls for about an hour and were only allowed to enter after removing their hijabs.

“There was harassment and intimidation of hijab-wearing female Muslim students in some Law School examination halls across the country yesterday, Saturday, October 31, 2026,” Akintola said.

“Hijabites who came hoping to sit for their call-to-bar final examinations were disallowed from entering the examination halls. In some places, they were forced to remain standing outside for about one hour until they removed their hijabs before they were allowed to enter and start the examination.”

The MURIC director said the organisation received numerous telephone calls, text messages and online messages from distressed candidates, their parents and concerned Muslims during the incidents.

“While this was going on, our office was inundated with telephone calls, text messages and chats. We heard the cries of traumatised candidates, the lamentations of distressed parents hundreds of kilometres away from the examination centres and the agitation of concerned Muslims around the country,” he said.

Describing the alleged incidents as an infringement on the candidates’ rights, Akintola said the organisation strongly condemned what it considered an unjustifiable disruption of their educational and professional pursuits.

“MURIC strongly condemns the wanton disruption of the lawful educational pursuit of innocent Muslim ladies. It is crude, irrational and sadistic,” he said.

The organisation expressed particular concern that “it is the Law School, the bastion of law education and the centre of legal excellence, that is involved in the denigration of court pronouncements.”

He cited Section 38(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to manifest and propagate religious beliefs.

MURIC also referenced the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Lagos State Government & Ors v. Asiyat Abdulkareem, which it said affirmed that banning or restricting the hijab amounted to discrimination.

The organisation further argued that the alleged treatment of the candidates violated Section 42 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination.

Akintola also cited Section 34(1)(a), which protects the dignity of the human person and prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

“The forceful undressing of our daughters at Law School examination centres in Nigeria is an open contravention of Section 34(a), which upholds the dignity of the human person by declaring authoritatively, unequivocally and emphatically that no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment,” he said.

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Police Rescue Six Abducted Farmers In Niger

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The police have rescued six farmers abducted by armed bandits in Mahangi village, near Pandogari, in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

 

The victims were rescued during a joint security operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services, DSS, special hunters and local vigilantes.

The Niger State Police Command said security operatives tracked the suspected bandits to their hideout following the abduction of the farmers while working on their farms.

The rescued victims were taken to the police division for profiling before being reunited with their families, while the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Minna, commenced an investigation into the incident.

According to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the operation was among several security successes recorded by the Nigeria Police Force across six states within 48 hours.

In Zamfara State, he stated that police tactical teams, working with local vigilantes, rescued five elderly women abducted during an attack on a farm in Dansadau, Maru Local Government Area.

The attack, which occurred on October 29, reportedly left a 35-year-old farmer dead, while the women were abducted as they harvested beans.

The police said security operatives engaged the attackers in a gun duel, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee.

The five women were rescued unhurt, while bush-combing and tracking operations were ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects.

In Kebbi State, joint security forces repelled an attack by suspected Lakurawa fighters on Ribah town in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area on October 30.

The attackers reportedly regrouped and launched an assault from different directions after security operatives foiled an earlier attempt to block Rambo Junction.

The security forces engaged the attackers and successfully repelled the assault.

The State Criminal Investigation Department, Birnin Kebbi, is investigating the incident.

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