Campaign Seeks Trust Fund To Support Families Of Fallen, Serving Officers

A nationalist run has been launched to propulsion for the constitution of the Defence Families Empowerment and Development (DEFEND) Trust Fund, aimed astatine supporting families of Nigeria’s subject and paramilitary unit who person either died oregon been injured successful the enactment of duty.

The campaign, tagged “100,000 Voices successful 100 Days”, was unveiled connected Monday successful Kaduna arsenic a citizens-led inaugural to stitchery 100,000 signatures betwixt October 6, 2025, and January 14, 2026, to rally nationalist and argumentation enactment for the projected fund.

According to the organisers, the DEFEND Trust Fund volition supply scholarships, entrepreneurship and vocational training, cooperative financing, and psychosocial enactment for the families of serving and fallen officers crossed the equipped forces and paramilitary services.

Lead Advocate of the campaign, Mohammed Usman Thompson, said the inaugural was inspired by years of witnessing the hardship faced by families near down by deceased officers, particularly non-commissioned personnel.

“I grew up successful subject barracks wherever I saw much obituary pictures than day oregon wedding pictures combined. I person watched families thrown retired of their homes aft the decease of their breadwinner successful progressive duty. I person seen excessively galore officers’ families unrecorded successful abject poorness due to the fact that of meagre salaries and the lack of structured support”.

“This run is astir justice, dignity, and anticipation for the families down the uniform,” helium added.

He explained that galore bereaved families of information officers proceed to look economical hardship, constricted entree to education, and adjacent eviction from barracks, contempt the sacrifices made by their loved ones successful defending the nation.

Thompson further noted that the inaugural aligns with the existent administration’s committedness to economical empowerment, fiscal inclusion, and enactment for susceptible groups, adding that the money would supply a structured nationalist mechanics to uplift long-neglected work families.

Thompson besides cited akin spot money models successful countries specified arsenic the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and United States, urging Nigeria to follow a comparable model to institutionalise enactment for work families.

“We recognise the captious relation of the media successful shaping nationalist conversations and driving policy. Through this partnership, we purpose to galvanize nationwide consciousness and mobilize voices to marque this inaugural a reality,” helium said.

The run is being launched successful concern with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council, to harness the power of the media successful shaping nationalist sermon and driving argumentation reform.