Over the past four years, at least 1,008 soldiers have voluntarily resigned from the Nigerian Army, according to media reports from 2020 to 2024.
The resignations, covering the period from 2020 to August 2023, highlight a growing trend of soldiers exiting the service before reaching mandatory retirement or completing their service years.
In 2023 alone, the Army approved the retirement of 59 soldiers, with 196 resigning in August of the same year. The breakdown of previous years shows that 261 soldiers resigned in 2022, 127 in 2021, and 365 in 2020.
A letter dated August 23, 2024, and signed by Brigadier O.H. Musa instructed the 196 soldiers who resigned in 2023 to begin terminal leave on November 1, with their official disengagement date set for November 30, 2024. The letter also directed their units to complete and submit the necessary documentation by September 6, 2024.
Addressing the trend, the Director of Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, explained that service in the Nigerian Army is voluntary, not conscription-based. He added that some soldiers resign due to medical or personal reasons.
“Officers and soldiers are processed for retirement or discharge in line with the terms and conditions of service of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. A few retire or discharge on medical grounds, while very few seek discharge voluntarily for personal reasons. This is not unusual and occurs in other security and civil organizations globally,” Nwachukwu told *Punch*.
