President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed payment of all pending Group Life Assurance owed to the families of deceased soldiers without delay.
The President also directed the Armed Forces and other security agencies to decisively deal with all security challenges facing the country,
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, disclosed these on Tuesday while declaring open the COAS Combined 2nd and 3rd Quarter Conference 2023, at the Army Headquarters Command Officers Mess Abuja.
He said: ”The Federal Government has a scheme called the Group Life Assurance. It is an insurance scheme designed to give succour to families of our departed heroes.
“This scheme works in such a way that the government pays premium to the insurance companies and in the event of death the insurance companies pay claims to the families of our departed heroes.
”However, we have a backlogs of between 2012 and 2022, when claims were not paid. And some people died in the cause of service to the nation. So, the insurance companies are at the liberty of paying the premium are not paying, and that is why the Federal Government has taken it upon itself to discharge that backlog, and bring relief to the families of our departed heroes.”
Lagbaja said that troops’ welfare and that of their families would continue to remain predominant in all his efforts to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of troops.
The COAS also said the Nigerian Army has established some Special Forces units using specially trained personnel to tackle various criminalities across the country, in a bid to further enhance its operational effects.
He said the Special Forces units have continued to record impressive performances through intelligence-led operations and the use of special equipment.
The COAS, however, charged field commanders to ensure the maintenance of sofisticated platforms and equipment procured by the army, in order to prolong their life span and enable the nation to optimize its investment.
Lagbaja noted that the activities of Operation HADIN KAI in the North East have effectively curtailed Boko Haram and other terrorist activities in the region and led to the large-scale surrender of members of the terrorist groups and the submission of a large cache of arms and ammunition.
