ABUJA, Nigeria - A spokesman for Nigeria's army says 27 former U.N. peacekeepers sentenced to life in prison after protesting officers stealing their extra pay have been pardoned.

In a brief statement issued Friday, Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade said all the former peacekeepers will be "paid all their due entitlements."

Olukolade says all those serving prison time will be discharged from military and have their sentences commuted.

In 2009, the soldiers protested by blocking the highway with bonfires and chanting war songs condemning their superiors. They were among more than 800 rank-and-file who said they didn't receive their allowances during their participation in a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Liberia.