The soldiers, drawn from various formations of the army across the country, all belong to junior cadres who are mostly at the forefront in the field.

A total of 34 soldiers are exiting the Nigerian Army despite the worsening security challenges the military is currently combating in some parts of the country, SaharaReporters has gathered.

The soldiers, drawn from various formations of the army across the country, all belong to junior cadres who are mostly at the forefront in the field.

They include warrant officers, staff sergeants, sergeants, lance corporals, corporals and privates.

The Chief of Army Staff has since approved their formal disengagement.

The list of the exiting soldiers did not distinguish between those embarking on voluntary retirement and those leaving the army on medical grounds.

However, none of them has attained retirement age or the mandatory years of service.

The soldiers in a letter to the army chief under Reference NA/COAS/001, quoted the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service soldiers/rating/airmen (Revised) 2017.

The approval of their voluntary disengagement dated January 25, 2023, was signed by Colonel AC Unadgu and exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters during the weekend.

According to Unadgu, the 34 soldiers are to submit all military properties in their possession.

There have been allegations of corruption in the Nigerian Army which some of the soldiers have blamed on the issue – soldiers overstaying in the Northeast.

According to some soldiers, the army is the epitome of deep-seated corruption. They noted that corruption is affecting the prosecution of the anti-terrorism war in Northeast Nigeria.

Recently, army personnel deployed for counterinsurgency operations in Borno State lamented that those who were to relieve them three months after they were asked to leave the battlefield had yet to resume.

The soldiers complained that they were being forced to confront Boko Haram militants, adding that their low morale and lack of willingness to continue to fight made it possible for terrorists to dislodge some military camps recently.

They complained of abandonment and accused the military authorities of keeping them on the front beyond their approved period of stay

In 2022, over 500 soldiers in the Northeast and other theatres of operation wrote to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen General Faruk Yahaya, seeking voluntary retirement.

Recently, some personnel attached to the 198 Special Forces of the Nigerian Army in Borno accused their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Abdulahi Hassan Ali of corruption and financial mismanagement.