We had recently reported that 243 soldiers in the North-East and other theatres of operation applied to the Chief of Army Staff for voluntary retirement.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya, has denied claims that some soldiers of the Nigerian Army resigned from the service due to pressure, adding that soldiers are used to pressure.

SaharaReporters had recently reported that 243 soldiers in the North-East and other theatres of operation applied to the Chief of Army Staff for voluntary retirement.

The action comes amid worsening security challenges the military is currently combating in most parts of the country.

The soldiers, drawn from various formations of the army across the country, are all junior cadres who are mostly fighting against terrorists and insurgents.

The Chief of Army Staff had since approved their formal disengagement.

The list of the exiting soldiers did not distinguish between those embarking on voluntary retirement and those leaving the army on medical grounds.

However, none of them had neither attained retirement age nor the mandatory years of service.

Some of the affected soldiers who spoke to SaharaReporters had cited loss of interest, intimidation by superiors, corruption in the army, and low morale as their reasons for resignation.

The soldiers in a letter to the army chief under Reference NA/COAS/001, quoted the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service soldiers/rating/airmen (Revised) 2017.

The approval of their voluntary disengagement dated August 15 was signed by Colonel S.S. Ahmed and exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters last Thursday.

However, the army chief, Yahaya at the 23rd Combat Service Support Corps Training Week 2022, themed “Building the capacity of the Nigerian Army Combat Service Support Corps in combating contemporary security challenges in joint environment,” held in Lagos State, said no soldier resigned due to pressure.

He asserted that the army would not stop any soldier that observes the right procedures from leaving the service.

He said, “Saying a soldier resigned due to pressure, does that make sense? A Nigerian soldier, a professional soldier resigns because of pressure? It doesn’t make sense. Our job is designed to have pressure and we are trained all across to have pressure, but the Army and others also have their own terms and conditions of service, they are what are called harmonised terms and conditions of service.

“When you join the Army, it’s voluntary and now there are also conditions at which when you want to do other things also, you can do. For you to leave the Army and do other things; there is a period, it is contained in our books. You apply, stating the reasons why you should leave, and these reasons are considered and granted. There is no constriction whatsoever.”

“Such soldiers, who leave, contribute in other fields and with the training and discipline he has got in the Army, anywhere he goes after retirement, he will do well. I challenge you all to check where all our retired soldiers go. They will all be doing well because they have trained with the values and virtues of dedication and commitment and discipline,” he said