A delegation of former members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and other military units who were injured during counter-insurgency operations in the Niger Delta between 2006 and 2015 has submitted a petition to the Chief of Defence Staff demanding formal recognition as conflict veterans, access to medical rehabilitation services, and pension entitlements that they say the military establishment has systematically denied them.
The group, numbering over 400 former soldiers and naval personnel, includes individuals who lost limbs, suffered permanent hearing damage, or sustained serious injuries during operations against armed groups in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states, and who say they have been discharged from service without the benefits or recognition afforded to veterans of conventional warfare.
Spokesperson for the group, retired Corporal Timipre Owei, said: We fought for this country in the Niger Delta. We lost our health, some of us lost parts of our bodies. When we came home, we were forgotten. No pension, no hospital card, no recognition. We are asking for what is right.
The Defence Headquarters acknowledged receipt of the petition and said it would be reviewed in accordance with established military welfare procedures, without providing a timeline or specific commitments.
Human rights lawyers working with the group say the case highlights a broader systemic failure to provide adequate welfare for military personnel deployed in domestic security operations, which are not covered by the same welfare frameworks as external deployments.
