A dismissed Nigerian soldier, Rotimi Olamilekan, widely known as Soja Boi, has challenged the Nigerian Army to publicly release its payroll records after presenting bank transaction alerts he claims show that soldiers earn modest wages and sometimes purchase their own protective gear.
Olamilekan, a former lance corporal with service number 18NA/77/1009, made the claims in a video posted on Tuesday, hours after the Army dismissed his earlier allegations as false and misleading.
In the video, he insisted he was not attempting to tarnish the image of the military but to present what he described as factual information.
“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.
To support his claims, Olamilekan displayed three bank transaction alerts which he said represented payments he received while serving in the Army.
One of the alerts, 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, showed a N20,000 credit with the narration “RTGS INFLOW FROM CBNi B/ORFL CENTRAL B.” Olamilekan described this as a “grumbling allowance.”
A third alert dated November 4, 2025, reflected a N45,000 credit with the narration “SKYSTONE FINANCE COMPANY LTD.” He said the payment represented an operational allowance paid to soldiers deployed to active conflict zones such as Maiduguri.
According to him, the operational allowance is not a regular benefit.
“If you are not in operation, they don’t pay you that one. If you go on operation, they will pay you,” he said.
He also mentioned a security allowance of about N6,000.
Olamilekan added that soldiers stationed in barracks typically receive only their basic salary and the N20,000 allowance.
“If you are doing barracks duty, you are only entitled to your salary and that N20,000,” he said.
The former soldier further repeated his claim that many troops purchase their own protective gear, including helmets and fragmentation jackets.
“Helmet, you go buy. Fragmentation jacket, you go buy them,” he alleged.
He urged Nigerians with relatives serving in the military to verify his claims.
“I know so many people who would want to say these things but don’t know how to. Call your brother, call your sister, and ask them if I am lying,” he said.
Olamilekan also directly challenged the Nigerian Army to make its payroll records public.
“If they say I am lying, they should bring out their payroll. How much are they paying soldiers?” he said.
However, Business Hallmark could not independently verify the authenticity of the receipts displayed in the video.
While one of the transaction alerts includes a reference to “NIC-ARMY AC,” the other alerts do not clearly identify the Nigerian Army or any government agency as the paying body. The alerts also appear to be standard bank notifications and do not include official Army payroll references or documentation.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Nigerian Army dismissed Olamilekan’s allegations as baseless.
In a statement issued by its Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Lt. Col. Appolonia Anaele, the Army maintained that all personnel are provided with uniforms, kits, weapons and protective gear through established logistics systems.
The Army said no soldier is deployed to an operational theatre without adequate protective equipment.
It acknowledged, however, that some personnel may choose to supplement issued kits with personal purchases but described such actions as voluntary.
On the issue of remuneration, the Army stated that soldiers receive consolidated monthly salaries along with uniform allowances, operational allowances and other mission-specific entitlements paid directly into their bank accounts.
Olamilekan first gained widespread attention in February 2026 after a video of him urging governors, senators and ministers to send their children to serve in the Nigerian Army went viral.
He was subsequently arrested and reportedly spent his birthday in detention before being dismissed from service.
The Army said his dismissal resulted from repeated acts of indiscipline, including violations of the Armed Forces’ social media policy and unauthorised media appearances, insisting that the decision was unrelated to the content of his viral videos.
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