Nigeria's President Tinubu orders a 80% salary increase for junior soldiers - BBC News

The announcement comes as Nigeria's security forces struggle to contain multiple threats.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Nigerian soldiers are fighting multiple enemies, including Islamist militants, separatists and gangs that kidnap civilians for ransom

Nigerian soldiers are to get a pay increase of up to 80% - their second salary increase in a month - for what President Bola Tinubu says is the government's "deep appreciation" of those battling the nation's enormous security threats.

In July, the defence minister raised the monthly wages for privates, the lowest-ranking soldiers, from $36 (£27) to $73. With the president's intervention they will now receive $132 from September.

It is part of Tinubu's efforts to curb violence from various armed groups, including Islamist militants and criminal kidnap gangs, known locally as "bandits".

Last month, he ordered the recruitment of 28,000 extra soldiers and the creation of four new army divisions.