{
  "id": 14174106,
  "title": "Angry Military Veterans lay siege to Pension board over alleged Underpayment",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/angry-military-veterans-lay-siege-to-pension-board-over-alleged",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-13T10:02:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Trust",
    "slug": "daily-trust",
    "url": "https://dailytrust.com/angry-military-veterans-lay-siege-to-pension-board-over-alleged-underpayment/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Angry military veterans have staged a protest at the Military Pensions Board in Abuja, demanding a recalculation of their pension entitlements. Lt. Col. Innocent Azubuike, leader of the Veterans Association of Nigeria, accused the board of using an incorrect formula that allegedly reduced the percentage increases approved for retired personnel. According to Azubuike, the approved adjustments should have provided an 80% increase for ranks ranging from private to staff sergeant, 50% for warrant officers to colonels, and 30% for brigadier generals and above. However, he claimed the board did not apply the approved percentages directly to existing pensions, instead using a method that decreased veterans' entitlements.\n\nThe veterans had previously approached the Ministry of Defence in August to include retired personnel in the salary-related adjustments, after discovering they had been initially excluded. The Ministry acknowledged the omission and subsequently included them in the approved adjustments. However, Azubuike accused the Military Pensions Board of using a calculation method that undermined the approved increases, despite the pension rates of retirees being determined by their ranks and years of service at retirement.\n\nAnother protester, Master Warrant Officer Duru Augustine, expressed feelings of betrayal among the veterans after years of service. He emphasized that the dispute concerned the implementation of approved pension adjustments, stating that the veterans had fought to secure these adjustments after discovering their exclusion. Augustine recalled earlier protests on August 19, after which the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, reportedly acknowledged their concerns and supported their inclusion. The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had provided a chart explaining the calculations, according to Augustine, and the board should implement the approved percentages rather than introduce a different method.",
  "summary": "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. 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. […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Veterans who retired before 2013 still awaiting pension adjustments – Ketereh MP",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/veterans-who-retired-before-2013-still-awaiting-pension-adjustments",
        "published": "2026-10-13T11:14:15.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}