The Senate has called on the Nigerian Military to ensure that payment to deceased family members of their personnel is made urgently.
On Tuesday, the Senate expressed disapproval through its Committee on Code of Conduct, Ethics, and Public Petitions of the military’s delays in processing insurance benefits for deceased and retired personnel.
The committee highlighted that the case of 174 Nigerian Air Force (NAF) families facing such delays is simply unacceptable. Additionally, they intervened to prevent NAF officers, led by Wing Commander Mohammed Saleh, from arresting Master Warrant Officer Rukayat Ajoke Ishola, who had petitioned the Senate about the non-payment of her late husband’s insurance benefits and the maltreatment she claims to have suffered from Air Force authorities since his passing in April 2016.
The Senate’s dissatisfaction stemmed from a petition submitted by Ishola, in which she accused the NAF of intentionally delaying the insurance benefits for her late husband, Warrant Officer Daramola Taiwo. She also claimed that her child was unjustly denied payment for school fees, a benefit typically afforded to children of deceased military personnel.
Ishola detailed how the alleged mistreatment from some officers following her husband’s death forced her to abandon her duty post for her safety. “I felt compelled to go AWOL due to the trauma of not receiving my late husband’s insurance benefits and the harassment I faced from certain officers,” she stated.
When Ishola attempted to present recorded phone conversations with the officers she accused, the committee declined to accept this evidence and called on the NAF representatives to respond to the allegations instead.
Defending the NAF, Wing Commander Mohammed Saleh, the Director of Legal Services, claimed that the delays in processing insurance benefits were not unique to Ishola’s case, as approximately 174 families in the Air Force were experiencing similar issues. “The petitioner’s allegations are false; the delays in benefits affect multiple families, not just her own,” he asserted. He also clarified that her child was not entitled to school fee payments since the husband did not die during active service, a distinction he explained as referring to those who die in combat rather than from natural causes.
The committee, chaired by Senator Neda Imasuen, was displeased by Saleh’s comments and reiterated that it is unacceptable for insurance benefits for deceased personnel to remain unpaid for nearly nine years. Consequently, the committee announced that a formal letter would be sent to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, demanding the expedited payment of the insurance benefits owed to Ishola and the inclusion of her child as a beneficiary for school fee payments. They also called for a provision for her honourable exit from the NAF and her retirement benefits.
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