The Nigerian Army on Wednesday in Abuja presented cheques to 10 Next of Kins of slain soldiers in the fight against insurgency in North East of the country.
The Managing Director of Nigerian Army Welfare Limited, Major General Bitus Kwaji, presented the cheques on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Kenneth Minimah, to the NOKs of those who died in April in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Kwaji said the COAS was very passionate about the immediate NOKs getting the cheques.
According to him, the payments were in three folds: Nigerian Army Welfare Insurance Payment, Benevolent Fund and the Nigerian Army Life Policy.
He explained that the payment was part of the series of payments the army would be making to NOKs before the actual payment of the death benefit by the Military Pension Board.
He said: “This payment we are making today is to ensure that the families of the deceased have something to live on before they get the death benefit.
“The payment would have been made since April but the documents and the NOKs were not available.
“That is why the money is being paid now.
“It took us quite some time before we could get the particulars of the NOKs.”
Kwaji said the COAS had directed that all those in service must document regularly, so that NOKs can be traced and paid immediately in similar circumstance.
Kwaji also advised the NOKs of the fallen heroes to ensure that they followed up with processing their documents at the military pension board.
He emphasised that if the documents were processed early, the pension board would pay the NOKs in time.
Responding on behalf of the NOKs, Hadiza Marwa thanked the Army for considering the welfare of the families of those who had dedicated their lives to the service of their fatherland.
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