Senate blames military for delayed benefits to families of fallen personnel

Nigerian Senate

The Nigerian Senate, through its Committee on Code of Conduct, Ethics, and Public Petitions, has condemned the military for significant delays in the disbursement of insurance benefits to families of deceased personnel, describing the backlog of 174 cases within the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) alone as “intolerable.”

The Senate’s criticism came during a session on Tuesday, prompted by a petition from Master Warrant Officer Rukayat Ajoke Ishola, widow of Warrant Officer Daramola Taiwo, who passed away in April 2016. Ishola reported that her husband’s insurance benefits remain unpaid nearly nine years later. She further alleged that her family was denied educational support for her child, a benefit typically provided to military families, and that harassment from NAF officers forced her to abandon her post.

Ishola, in the petition, alleged that the payment of insurance benefits for her late husband was deliberately delayed by NAF and that her child was denied the payment of school fees by NAF, unlike other children of deceased men and officers of the military.

She added that the maltreatment allegedly meted out to her by some officers after the demise of her husband in April 2016 made her abandon her duty post as a way of saving her life.

She said: “I was forced and traumatised to go AWOL (away without leave) because my late husband’s insurance benefits were deliberately not paid, my child was denied school fees payment by NAF in line with military tradition, and I faced unwarranted persecutions from some officers and life-threatening postings.”

During the hearing, the committee blocked an attempt by NAF officers, led by Wing Commander Mohammed Saleh, to detain Ishola over her allegations. Saleh responded to the committee, arguing that Ishola’s case was part of a broader issue affecting 174 families. He claimed that NAF policy only covers school fees for children of personnel who die “in active service”—defined as combat or duty-related deaths, according to recent amendments.

The committee, led by Senator Neda Imasuen, rejected NAF’s explanation and rebuked the delay in payments, calling it unacceptable. The committee chair ordered NAF to expedite the payment of insurance benefits to Ishola, provide educational support for her child, and arrange an honorable exit for Ishola from NAF, with all applicable retirement benefits. A formal letter to Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar was also mandated, urging prompt resolution of the issues.