Scores of security personnel drawn from the Nigerian military, Nigerian police, Nigeria Immigration Service, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and others were on alert on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, Abuja, ahead of a planned mass protest by retired military officers.
The retirees are demanding the implementation of consequential pension adjustments arising from salary increases approved for serving military personnel.
It was learnt that the heavy deployment was ordered ahead of the demonstration, which had been organised over the non-implementation of the adjustments. The protesters attempted to move towards the front of the ministry as part of their planned action, but additional security personnel were mobilised to prevent them from assembling at the location.
The development followed an earlier confrontation between serving soldiers and the retired personnel, after security operatives attempted to stop the ex-servicemen from staging their protest in front of the ministry premises.
Soldiers deployed to the ministry had moved against the protesters as they tried to assemble, leading to a clash between the serving and retired personnel. The heavy security presence subsequently prevented the ex-servicemen from converging at the front of the ministry as planned.
