Armed police officers and soldiers on Wednesday prevented retired military personnel from gathering in front of the Ministry of Defence in Abuja as they protested over the non-implementation of consequential adjustments to their pensions.
The retirees had planned to demonstrate at the ministry to demand pension increases corresponding to salary adjustments approved for serving military personnel.
Heavy security was deployed around the ministry and adjoining roads, with personnel from the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service and Vehicle Inspection Officers taking strategic positions at the venue. Two armoured personnel carriers and more than 15 security vehicles were also seen around the area.
The situation escalated when the retirees attempted to move towards the front of the ministry, prompting security personnel to block them from assembling at the location.
The confrontation came as the pensioners pressed their demand for what they described as their constitutional right to consequential pension adjustments whenever serving military personnel receive salary increases.
One of the leaders of the retirees, retired Colonel Innocent Azubike, said the group was not opposed to salary increases for serving personnel but wanted retired personnel to receive the corresponding adjustment.
“We have a protest on Wednesday at the Ministry of Defence to demand our constitutional pension rights,” Azubike said.
He alleged that President Bola Tinubu approved a new military pay structure in November 2025, but that the corresponding adjustment for pensioners had not been implemented.
According to him, another salary increase announced for military personnel in August 2026, expected to take effect in September, also did not include the retirees in the computation for consequential pension adjustments.
“That is the main issue we are protesting,” he said.
The retirees argued that failing to adjust their pensions could create disparities among personnel of the same rank and similar years of service, particularly between those who retired before and after the implementation of new salary structures.
In a separate statement issued ahead of the protest, the pensioners said consequential adjustments were not a favour but an entitlement.
“It’s not a favour to the retirees but a Constitutional and legal right,” they said, citing the Nigerian Constitution, the Armed Forces Act and the Military Manual of Financial Administration.
They also maintained that the latest military minimum wage increase of N180,000, scheduled to take effect in September 2026, had excluded pensioners from the funds calculated for its implementation.
The retirees had pledged that their demonstration would remain peaceful and that they would not obstruct access to the Ministry of Defence or surrounding roads.
However, the heavy security presence at the ministry prevented them from converging at the location as planned, with serving soldiers and retired personnel reportedly confronting each other during the attempt to stage the protest.