DELTA CRISIS: Nigerian Soldiers Cry Out Over Starvation, Unpaid Allowances, Demand Commander’s Removal

Sahara reporters has taken to its official x handle and announced that the Troops of the Nigerian Army deployed under Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State have raised a deafening alarm over what they described as inhumane treatment, starvation, and financial exploitation at their operational base, Camp 5.

The soldiers, drawn from the 181 Amphibious Battalion Agbor, 90 Amphibious Battalion Koko, and Sector 1 Warri, accused their superiors of diverting allowances, withholding entitlements, and subjecting them to degrading conditions despite their dangerous assignments in the volatile oil-rich creeks.

> “We are suffering here. No good food, no medical care, and no flying boat to rush a soldier in case of an emergency. This place feels like a punishment ground,” one soldier lamented in frustration.
Starvation and Poor Welfare

According to multiple accounts, the troops alleged that commanding officers rotate feeding responsibilities monthly, yet meals remain grossly inadequate and substandard.

> “We only eat twice a day instead of three times. Sometimes, we go without food for days. It’s unbearable,” another soldier groaned.

This is despite the Federal Government’s recent increment of feeding allowance to ₦3,000 per day (₦90,000 monthly). The soldiers insist that the funds are being siphoned off by their commanders, leaving them hungry and abandoned in hostile terrain.

Allowance Diversion Scandal

The troops further accused commanders of pocketing deployment allowances paid by oil companies operating in the Niger Delta. Soldiers are allegedly entitled to between ₦300,000 and ₦400,000 per month from oil firms, but according to them, they receive only ₦30,000, often delayed for months.

> “As we speak, they are owing us three months arrears, and we don’t know if it will ever be paid,” a soldier said bitterly.

Call for Commander’s Sack

Angered by what they describe as systemic exploitation, the troops called for the removal of the 63 Brigade Commander/Sector 1 Commander, Asaba, accusing him of turning a blind eye while his subordinates enrich themselves at the expense of soldiers risking their lives daily.

> “We want Gen. C.G. Musa and Lt. Gen. O.O. Oluyede to intervene immediately. We can’t take this anymore,” one of the soldiers declared.



Their Demands

The soldiers are demanding:

Immediate payment of all outstanding allowances.

Transparent disbursement of the official ₦90,000 monthly feeding allowance.

Payment of the full oil company deployment package instead of the ₦30,000 token.

Removal of the Sector Commander for alleged complicity in welfare mismanagement.


> “We are not asking for charity. We just want what is rightfully ours,” the soldiers concluded.