Insecurity: “You Are Free To Go” Military Tells 1000 Soldiers

The Nigerian Army says soldiers are free to voluntarily disengage from the Armed Forces, saying recruitment is not by “conscription.”

Maj Gen.Onyema Nwachukwu, Director, Army Public Relations made the remark in his reaction to the controversy that has trailed the mass retirement of soldiers from the Force.

According to checks, over 1,000  soldiers have resigned from the Nigerian Army in the last four years, from 2020 to 2024.

Reports claimed that close to 60 soldiers had retired from the Nigerian Army in 2023 alone, while in August this year, 196 soldiers resigned from the Nigerian Army.

Further checks indicate that those that disengaged from the Army had not attained the retirement age or mandatory years of service before the exited.

Suggestions are that the disengaged servicemen decided to leave because they were dissatisfied with what is going on in  the country’s Armed Forces.

While some soldiers have alleged high level of corruption against the Armed Forces management, others have expressed their dissatisfaction with the way the war on insurgency and banditry has been prosecuted in the northern parts of the country.

Instructively, the core of the allegation is that the top echelon of the Military are among the sponsors of insecurity in the region.

How ever in his reaction to the mass retirement Gen Nwachukwu, said soldiers who wish to leave the service cannot be compelled to remain.

He explained that several factors are responsible for soldiers disengagement, including medical and personal reasons, adding that this is in line with international best practices.

Onyema said, “Though I do not have the exact details of yearly retirements or discharge of personnel currently, I can say that officers and soldiers are processed for retirement or discharge by time, based on laid down criteria and provisions of the terms and conditions of service of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, especially those who have served out their mandatory 35 years of service.

“A few retire or discharge on medical grounds, while very few seek discharge voluntarily for personal reasons. Retiring or discharging from active service is, therefore, not a strange phenomenon, as this is also obtainable in other local and international security and civil organisations. I must add quickly that service in the Nigerian Army is not by conscription.”

Meanwhile, not a few Nigerians insist that the mass retirement of soldiers is a vote of no confidence on the Nigerian Military which is currently struggling to contain insecurity across the country. The development, they say, will further demotivate serving personnel.