A private organization, Defend Trust Fund Campaign (DTFC), has unveiled plans to launch a nationwide movement to raise ₦100 billion for the empowerment of families of soldiers and other paramilitary personnel across the country.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, Kaduna, the Lead Advocate of the campaign, Mohammed Usman Thompson, said the organisation would, within four months, collect 100,000 signatures to push for the establishment of the proposed fund.
He said the initiative, tagged Defence Families Empowerment and Development Trust Fund (Defend Trust Fund), aims to provide scholarships, entrepreneurship and vocational training, cooperative financing, and psychosocial support for families of security personnel.
According to him, the campaign, scheduled to run from October 6, 2025, to January 14, 2026, seeks to institutionalize a national mechanism for supporting the families of those who risk their lives in service to the nation.
“Every day, men and women of Nigeria’s armed forces and paramilitary services put on their uniforms to defend the nation, often at great personal risk,” Thompson said. “Behind each of these brave individuals stands a family that carries silent burdens.”
He lamented that many such families face economic hardship, limited access to education, and, in some cases, eviction from barracks after losing their breadwinner in active duty.
“I grew up in military barracks where I saw more obituary pictures than birthday or wedding pictures combined,” he recalled. “I’ve watched families thrown out of their homes and non-commissioned officers’ children live in poverty. This campaign is personal, about justice, dignity and hope for the families behind the uniform.”
Thompson said the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to empower citizens, promote financial inclusion and support vulnerable groups.
He noted that the campaign, launched in partnership with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), recognises the media’s critical role in shaping national discourse and driving policy change.
Through this collaboration, he said, the group hopes to galvanize nationwide awareness and mobilize public support for the creation of the trust fund.
Thompson added that the campaign draws inspiration from similar statutory programmes in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the United States, where trust funds and grants exist to support service families.
