72-year-old retired soldier commits suicide over hardship in Benue

A 72-year-old retired soldier identified as Francis Dooga, has allegedly committed suicide in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

The deceased allegedly hanged himself on a tree in his residence opposite St. Joseph Catholic Church in Iniongun, a suburb of Makurdi at about 6:00pm on Sunday, January 28, 2024. 

A neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Dooga popularly known as ‘old soldier’, took the drastic action while members of his family were away from home.

Some residents of the area alleged that the late retiree had earlier complained of hardship. 

It was also gathered that the deceased had complained that one of his children was always withdrawing his pension on arrival. 

He further complained about not getting his pension in bulk from the pension board. 

“Before committing suicide, the man was always complaining of his Security Debartment Allowance (SDA) which was released by the Federal Government to the Defence Headquarters, which was in turn released to the military pension board,” a resident said. 

“He said the pension was being released to them meagerly instead of in bulk monthly like their junior ones, resulting to abject poverty and abandonment by his family members.”