Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has disclosed that the Federal Government has increased the minimum monthly salary of Nigerian soldiers from N49,000 to N100,000 as part of efforts to improve their welfare.

Musa made the disclosure during an interview with News Central ahead of the broadcast of its NC Exclusive programme on Friday.

The minister, who previously served as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), acknowledged that the military remains underfunded despite recent improvements in personnel welfare.

“When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard; now he’s collecting N100,000,” he said.

While noting that the current defence budget remains inadequate, Musa said the administration of President Bola Tinubu has made significant efforts to improve the remuneration of military personnel.

The minister also advocated the death penalty for kidnappers, arguing that harsher punishments are necessary to curb the growing wave of abductions across the country.

“I think we should do that. There must be deterrence. The laws are soft, and that’s why people take advantage. If they know once you commit an offence, there must be punishment,” he said.

Commenting on the recent abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State, Musa described the incident as unfortunate and alleged that the kidnappers were attempting to pressure the military into releasing some of their detained commanders.

According to him, the abductors threatened to kill the children if security forces intensified rescue efforts.

“It’s a very sad event. Unfortunately, bad things do happen. For whatever reason, they are looking for leverage because we have some of their commanders with us, and they feel taking these kids and holding them to ransom will make us release their commander,” he said.

“They are now threatening that if we come any closer, they’re going to kill all the kids,” he added.

Musa also dismissed allegations that soldiers are poorly fed, insisting that reports circulating in the public space misrepresent the reality.

Referring to an incident involving an influencer identified as Justice Crack, the minister alleged that the soldier featured in the video deliberately created a misleading impression about the quality of meals provided to troops.

“The soldier’s food was okay. There was meat and other things. But he told them to remove those items and make it appear as if they were not there,” he said.