A dismissed Nigerian soldier, Rotimi Olamilekan, popularly known as Soja Boi, has dared the Nigerian Army to publish its payroll to dispute his claims about soldiers’ earnings even as he made public his bank transaction alerts to back his claims.
Olamilekan, a former Lance Corporal (service number 18NA/77/1009), made the assertions in a video released on Tuesday, just hours after the Army dismissed his earlier allegations or poor pay and kitting as false and misleading.
He clarified that his comments were not intended to tarnish the institution.
“I am not trying to spoil the Nigerian Army’s image or make people look at them as if they are not good. But I am just speaking the facts and I will be backing them with evidence,” he said.
In the footage, he displayed three bank alerts he claimed were evidence of payments received during his service. One, dated February 2, 2026, showed a credit of N112,061.59 with a narration referencing “NIC-ARMY AC,” which he identified as his monthly salary.
Another alert, dated February 4, 2026, reflected a N20,000 credit, which he described as a “grumbling allowance,” while a third one, dated as far as November 4, 2025, showed a N45,000 payment from Skystone Finance Company Ltd, an amount he said was an operational allowance for personnel deployed to active conflict zones such as North-East.
He added that a N6,000 security allowance also existed but stressed that operational allowances were not permanent.
“If you are not in operation, they don’t pay you that one. If you go on operation, they will pay you,” he explained.
According to him, soldiers stationed in barracks receive only salaries and the N20,000 allowance.
“If you are doing barracks duty, you are only entitled to your salary and that N20,000,” he said.
Olamilekan also reiterated his claim that personnel often procure their own protective gears, including helmets and fragmentation jackets.
“Helmet, you go buy. Fragmentation jacket, you go buy them,” he alleged.
He urged Nigerians with relatives in the military to independently verify his claims even as he maintained his stance by daring the Army to make its payroll public.
“If they say I am lying, they should bring out their payroll. How much are they paying soldiers?” he said.
However, the authenticity of the receipts displayed by Soja Boi could not be independently verified at press time. While one alert referenced “NIC-ARMY AC,” the others did not explicitly identify the Nigerian Army or any government agency as the source.
Responding earlier to Soja Boi’s claims on Tuesday, the Nigerian Army, through its Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Appolonia Anaele, dismissed Olamilekan’s allegations as baseless.
The Army maintained that all personnel were issued uniforms, kits, arms and protective gears through established logistics systems and were not deployed without adequate protection. It acknowledged that some soldiers may choose to supplement issued equipment but described such actions as voluntary.
On welfare, the Army stated that personnel receive consolidated monthly salaries alongside uniform allowances, operational allowances and other mission-specific benefits paid directly into their bank accounts.
It would be recalled that Olamilekan first gained national attention in February 2026 after a viral video in which he urged governors, senators and ministers to send their children to join the Army.
He was subsequently arrested, detained, and later dismissed. According to the Army, his discharge was due to repeated acts of indiscipline, including breaches of the Armed Forces Social Media Policy and unauthorised media engagements, and not the content of his public statements.
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