Two military personnel were killed and a major of the Nigerian Army was abducted when bandits stormed the school around 1 am on Tuesday.

There were claims last night that the abducted major was also murdered but this could not be independently verified.

Sources in the premier institution described the invaders as “terrorists”.

They said the attackers stormed the school in large numbers wielding high calibre assault rifles and desecrated its sanctity.

People outside the academy also recounted how the sound of gunshots rented the air while the incursion lasted. Many of them said they could not go back to bed because of fear of the unknown.

The NDA is a military university based in Kaduna and it trains officer cadets for commissioning into the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the army, the navy and the air force.

Apart from specialised and conventional postgraduate programmes, it was learnt that the academy also offers strategic military courses for officers from neighbouring countries.

Retired security operatives yesterday described the attack on the NDA Afaka campus as “The height of affront on the foundation of Nigeria’s security establishment.”

They also called for a thorough investigation to unravel the mystery behind the onslaught on one of Nigeria’s symbols of authority and military might.

The daring entry

The criminals reportedly breached the security apparatus of the academy and made their way into the officers’ quarters housing majors and their equivalent in the navy and air force.

The academy had since confirmed that it lost two personnel in the invasion while a manhunt for the bandits to rescue the kidnapped major has commenced.

A statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the academy, Maj. Bashir Jajira said two officers were killed, while one was abducted.

The statement titled ‘Security breach of Nigerian Defence Academy architecture’ read: “The security architecture of the Nigerian Defence Academy was compromised early this morning by unknown gunmen who gained access into the residential area within the academy in Afaka.

“During the unfortunate incident, we lost two personnel and one was abducted.

“The Academy, in collaboration with the 1 Division Nigerian Army, the Air Training Command as well as other security agencies in Kaduna State has since commenced pursuit of the unknown gunmen within the general area to track them and rescue the abducted personnel.

“The NDA community and cadets are safe in the academy. We assure the general public that these unknown gunmen would soon be apprehended and the abducted personnel rescued,” the statement said.

Soldiers on guard ‘mysteriously’ fell asleep

Daily Trust, however, gathered that the bandits had operated like they had “insider information”.

One of the sources said the bandits had loosened the hinges of the doors to gained access into the quarters but as soon as their presence was felt, soldiers engaged them in a shootout where two officers paid the supreme price.

The source told our correspondent that the victims are a Lieutenant Commander simply identified as Wulah and Flying Lieutenant CM Okoronwo while Major Datong was abducted. 2Lt Onah, who sustained gunshot injuries, was said to be receiving treatment at the NDA Medical Centre.

It was learnt that though the Afaka campus appeared fortified with concrete slab walls and electric fence, a portion of the electric fence along the Kaduna Airport Road appeared loose.

It was, nonetheless, uncertain if the bandits were responsible for the faulty fence or they only took advantage of the problem to gain entrance.

Another source within the campus told our correspondent that the academy had a patrol team that ran three shifts with the first starting between 8 pm to 10 pm; the second between 10 pm to 2 am and the third shift between 2 am and 6 am.

It was gathered that the patrol did not take place on Tuesday while soldiers on guard mysteriously fell asleep during the invasion.

While narrating what happened, a staff of the academy who also pleaded for anonymity, said: “It was a terrible experience. The bandits took advantage of the time when most people had gone to bed to attack the barracks.

“I woke up to use the restroom when I heard gunshots around 1 am. After several calls, I was informed that bandits had invaded the barracks and information got around immediately,” he said.

Troops on garrison duty overstretched

A senior officer who spoke in confidence said the security of the academy was compromised because of challenges elsewhere.

“We have essentially deployed many fighting soldiers out and now no one is left to do garrison duties, which should have prevented or neutralised the attack on NDA,” he said.

“Also, the general lax attitude contributed to this embarrassing breach and so many people know this for a fact,” he said.

He said many awkward things were happening at the NDA and other military formations that must be checked.

Another source said, “About two years ago, a cadet who was few days to his passing out from the NDA was abducted by bandits. He was the son of a judge from one of the North Central states…A ransom was paid to the bandits before he was released.”

Another source told one of our correspondents that it was easy for anyone to get into NDA because security at the gate was porous.

“They don’t do proper checking because sometimes they ask you to identify yourself but in most instances, they don’t. All kinds of people get access to the institution easily which is unlike a regimented area,” he said.

Another source said the bandits’ den was not far from the academy and wondered why they could not be checkmated.

“They have many camps a few kilometres away from the Afaka campus. I would not be ashamed to say the bandits live peacefully in their camps,” he said.

At the time our correspondents visited the general area of the NDA, the vehicular movement appeared steady with no sign of security concerns.

“Now, staff and personnel have to provide three sets of identification cards before they are given access into the academy. This is to ensure the unscrupulous elements are not allowed in,” a military source told our correspondents.

It was also gathered that an air force surveillance aircraft had been deployed to search for the kidnapped military officer but a helicopter pilot told the Daily Trust that there was no credible lead yet.

Too many attacks

Daily Trust reports that since the beginning of the year, bandits have teased and made daring attacks close to Nigeria’s military formations in Kaduna.

The Afaka axis in Igabi LGA down to Kaduna Airport road and Birnin Gwari has become probably the deadliest route in Kaduna State due to its huge forests such as the Kamuku National Park.

Even though the Afaka campus of the NDA is sandwiched between the Nigerian Air Force Base, Department of State Security Services (DSS) Training School and Kaduna Airport, all of them a few minutes drive from the headquarters of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, the axis remains a major security challenge to motorists and security agents.

The senior staff quarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which is not far from the NDA had been severally attacked by bandits.

The NDA permanent site is adjacent to the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka where bandits in March this year invaded the college and abducted 37 students.

The last batch of the abducted students regained freedom 55 days later.

In an interview with commercial drivers who ply the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari axis, one of them expressed shock over recurrent security breaches around the NDA.

“One expects that the route should be the safest but curiously, it is the most dangerous route in Nigeria,” he said.

Daily Trust gathered that the Afaka campus, which is the permanent site of the military university has a vast land that extends to near the Kamuku Forests that traverses some northern states including Zamfara and Katsina. The forest is a famous notorious enclave for bandits.

Security breach embarrassing- Ex-AIG, others

A retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Ambrose Aisabor, described Tuesday’s attack on the NDA as a disgrace to the country.

He said this had shown that Nigeria currently lacked security, warning that something drastic must be done to forestall even worse attacks in the country.

He said, “This is not the first time that our symbol of security has been bastardised. It happened when the Boko Haram terrorists bombed the police headquarters in Abuja in 2011.

“The NDA incident has finally destroyed the invincibility of the country’s security forces. This has also shown that the nation has no virile intelligence architecture.”

Also speaking, another security expert, Group Capt. John Ojikutu, said the attack near the Kaduna International Airport (KIA) recently had emboldened the bandits.

He said, “When the staff quarters of the Kaduna Airport and College of Forestry were invaded early this year, I called attention to my concern on how could this have occurred when the NDA and the NAF Base share boundaries with the airport.

“The chicken has come to roost” is what the NDA attack has shown to some of us; the presence of abnormal and the absence of normal.”

Reacting to the attack on his Twitter handle, a former senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, said if bandits could attack the NDA, nowhere in Nigeria was safe.

“The Airport staff quarters that were once attacked, the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation that was once attacked and now the Nigerian Defence Academy that has been attacked are all in the same ward, Afaka in Kaduna. No lesson learned and nowhere is safe; disappointing.”