About 386 soldiers voluntarily disengaged from the army due to medical and other reasons in the second quarter of 2020 as confirmed by the House of Representatives Committee on Army.
Abdulrazaq Namdas, Chairman of the committee made this known while presenting a report to the house.
Namdazs said 356 soldiers left the army after losing interest, 24 left to take up traditional titles; while six were discharged on medical grounds.
The Chairman of the house committee said; “The documents showed that all the voluntarily discharged soldiers were Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO), ranging from Master Warrant Officer (MWO) to private (PTE).
“Based on the facts available to the committee, there was no mass resignation from the army. Individual soldiers resigned on their own from their units.
“The army also told the committee that many soldiers also voluntarily resigned because they simply lost interest in the profession and wanted to take up or look for another job.
“Others voluntarily discharged from the service to take up traditional titles. There are also a few who voluntarily resigned for health reasons.
“Soldiers do not resign in group, rather each soldier resigns on his/her own choice as an individual by submitting his/her own hand-written resignation letter to his/her own unit.
“It has become a routine that every year soldiers resign voluntarily, and so the case of the resignations in the second quarter of 2020 is not unusual.”
The committee which recommended that the Nigerian Army improve on the welfare of its personnel, especially those in battle fields or other combat operations, also called for an effective monitoring or follow-up in the delivery of welfare packages in all Army formations to ensure they reach the soldiers in a fair and equitable manner.