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Soldiers of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army in Kaduna, have cried out that deductions are being made from their monthly salaries by the Army Finance Department without explanations.
They said this in a letter to the Director of Army Finance Accounts (DAFA).
According to SaharaReporters, the unexplained deductions have gone on for 17 months.
Explaining, the letter said that a staff sergeant, who is on a monthly salary of N73,500 goes hom with N65,000 after N8,500 unexplained deduction.
Sergeants, who should earn N65,000 have been having N7,000 deducted without explanation, leaving them with a take-home pay of N58,000. Corporals entitled to N58,000 monthly are being paid N52,000, while Lance Corporals are paid N49,000 instead of N52,000 as prescribed by the Army salary structure for officers in that category.
In the letter, the soldiers called on the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, to look into their complaints.
Saharaeporters quoted a soldier serving in 1 Brigade Sokoto, 35 Battalion, and 3 Brigade Kano, as saying:
“I am a corporal, and my monthly salary, which is supposed to be N58,000:00 has been slashed to N52,000. I was given a letter signed by Brigadier General C.O Udeh, the then Commander of the 1 Brigade, Sokoto, to the Finance Department of 1 Division, Nigerian Army in Kaduna, but the complaint received no response”
Some soldiers also lamented that they were promoted to the next rank since September 1, 2014, and 2015 respectively, but they are still being paid salaries on account of their previous ranks.
The medium reports further that the affected soldiers include those carrying gunshot injuries sustained while on deployment to “Operation Zaman Lafiya,” which has been renamed “Operation Lafiya Dole.”
