Insecurity: Apprehension trails bandits’ attack on NDA Kaduna

*Attack, a national embarrassment, says ACF

*PDP: Nigerians have lost hope in Buhari- led APC govt

*Nowhere is safe-Shehu Sani, as Kaduna govt, Assembly speaker condemn attack

ldibia Gabriel, Kaduna and Andrew Orolua, Tunde Opalana, Abuja

The worsening insecurity in the country assumed a new proportion in the early hours of Tuesday when daredevil armed bandits disguised in army uniforms invaded the permanent site of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna, killing two officers and abducting one other officer.

News of the incident immediately heightened fears across the country, with many Nigerians saying if the bandits can penetrate a fortified Military institution as the NDA with ease, then nowhere in the country is safe.

A witness said the bandits which came in a vehicle were through the security gate into the academy, after which they proceeded to the officers’ quarters.

On arrival, they began shooting sporadically and in the process, killed two officers (a Major and a Squadron Leader), and later on, took another Major away through the nearby bush inside the academy.

The sound of the gunfire, however, alerted the troops of the NDA Quick Response Team, who arrived at the scene, but were unable to rescue the kidnapped officer as the bandits were already gone with the victim.

A combined team of security operatives however launched a manhunt of the bandits inside the bush including air surveillance with a view to arresting them and rescuing the kidnapped officer.

The Nigerian Defence Academy is located a few metres away from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization Afaka, in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, where 39 students were abducted by bandits in March.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) said the security architecture of the institution was compromised early Tuesday morning by unknown gunmen who gained access into the residential area within the academy in Afaka.

The Defence Academy made the assertion in a statement in reaction to the killing of two of its officers and abduction of one other by bandits in the early hours of Tuesday.

The statement signed by Academy Public Relations Officer (APRO), Major Bashir Muhd Jajira, stressed that NDA, other Army formations and other security agencies in Kaduna State have since commenced pursuit of the bandits.

“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 and Air Training Command as well as other security agencies in Kaduna State have since commenced pursuit of the unknown gunmen within the general area with a view to tracking them and rescuing 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 institution stated.

Reacting to the incident, Kaduna State Government conveyed its sympathy and appealed to citizens to volunteer useful information to the military and security agencies in the campaign against banditry and kidnapping.

The State Government said it received with sadness the report of the unfortunate security breach at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna in the early hours of Tuesday 24th August 2021.

The Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement on Tuesday, said: “Being the host of the Academy and a partner in several spheres of national security and development, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has been briefed of the development, and on behalf of the Government and People of Kaduna State, has prayed for the repose of the souls of the personnel who lost their lives.

“The Governor conveys heartfelt empathy to the Academy, and to the immediate families of the personnel, and also extends deep concern to the family of the abducted officer.

“Furthermore, the Government of Kaduna State extends its unreserved solidarity to the Armed Forces of Nigeria and all security agencies who are making immense sacrifices on different fronts.”

“The Government hereby appeals to the good citizens of the state to volunteer useful information to the military and security agencies in the campaign against banditry and kidnapping, in the state and beyond. “

“On its part, the Kaduna State Government will continue to take actions considered imperative in the campaign against bandits throughout the state,” the state government said.

Meanwhile, the pan-Northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), on Tuesday, expressed shock over the attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).

The ACF described the invasion of the premier military training institution as a slap and embarrassment to the entire nation, lamenting that the institution bequeathed to the country by the founding fathers of the North, had been handed over to “bandits.”

National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Emmanuel Yawe, noted in a statement that the invasion is an indication that Nigeria’s national security system was running on a reverse gear.

The statement reads: “The ACF first and foremost commemorates with the families of those who lost their lives during today’s attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy. These gallant men have paid the supreme price for Nigeria, their motherland. We hope their sacrifices are not in vain.

“The Forum is praying that the abducted officer will be rescued and the criminals who abducted him brought to book. The latest security breach is another embarrassment to the ACF.

“The NDA is a proud monument of the efforts of the first generation of Northerners who fought hard to bring development to the North; the likes of Muhammadu Ribadu, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello who brought the Institution to Kaduna. They did not bring it here for our generation to hand it over to bandits or whatever we call them.

“This is an institution that is not only a pride of the North but a pride of Nigeria. Many African countries train their military officers here.

It is really sad that ordinary street bandits will invade a military institution of such high national and international repute, outwit the security system and men there, kill officers and take one away to an unknown destination.

“We of the ACF are particularly sad because Kaduna is our home not only because our headquarters is located here but for a long time, even after the split of our Northern Region, Kaduna remained home to all Northerners.

The NDA is a proud reminder of the achievements of our fathers. Is that how our present generation of Northerners will sit and watch as these legacies are destroyed?

“We of the ACF have said it again and again that there is everything seriously wrong with the management of our security. The other day a Nigerian Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by the so called bandits.

Today the factory where all Nigerian military officers are produced has been invaded and desecrated. What else do we need to show that our national security system is running on reverse gear?”

In the same vein, Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, said that the attack on NDA was an assault on Nigeria’s territorial Integrity

The Speaker said this in a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Ibrahim Dahiru Danfulani, adding that the incident must be treated with all seriousness.

The statement reads: “NDA is Nigeria’s premier training citadel for Nigeria’s Armed Forces, a pride to the country and Africa, hence such a daring attack on the institution, is unacceptable and must be investigated by the military hierarchy.

“It is disheartening and unfortunate for such an attack to have taken place, catching those in charge of its internal security off guard.”

While commending Nigeria’s security personnel for making efforts to decimate bandits and insurgents nationwide, he said they should not let the NDA incident demoralise them.

“I sincerely commiserate with families of those who lost their lives, I am pleased that the NDA authorities have given assurance that the assailants are being trailed and would be apprehended,” the statement added.

In related development, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has urged the Federal Government to deploy drones and missiles against bandits ravaging the Northern part of the country.

Gov el-Rufai said the Federal Government should furnish troops with more sophisticated weapons against bandits.

Speaking in Abuja, the Governor said the Federal Government should deploy a combination of air and ground forces against bandits in the North.

The governor said: “I think the security agencies also need more advanced technology. The Air force needs more drones.

“Drones are much cheaper than planes, and there are drones now that can carry missiles.

“But drones can be more targeted, more selective and quiet. And drones can also fly in circumstances that airplanes cannot due to bad weather.

“We need the combination of airpower, and we need troops on the ground augmented by local expertise and knowledge. We need just one, two, three months of operation just to kill all these bandits.

“It’s the only way to stop this. So the only option that we have is to ensure that we kill them all.”

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday said the decision by some state governments to evacuate their citizens from violence and terror ridden states, including Plateau State, further confirms that Nigerians have lost faith in the capacity of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to secure the nation.

The party lamented that the insecurity situation has so deteriorated under President Buhari’s watch that suspected bandits now have the temerity to attack military formations, including the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, where they killed two officers and abducted another senior officer.

The party said it is regrettable that bandits and terrorists are now freely ravaging communities in Kano, Kaduna, Kogi, Benue, Zamfara, Adamwa, Taraba, Borno, Yobe, Imo and other states of the federation, including President Buhari’s home state, Katsina, where the governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has now asked victims of terror attacks to defend themselves.

The PDP added that it is distressing that having lost hope in the capacity and commitment of the President Buhari-led APC administration to protect their citizens, state governments are now sending vehicles to the University of Jos, Plateau state, to evacuate their citizens.

The party in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan said this shows complete loss of confidence in the APC administration and the empty promises by the Buhari Presidency.

“It is even more disheartening that while our nation is under turmoil and while hundreds of helpless Nigerians, including innocent students, are languishing in kidnappers’ den, President Buhari and APC leaders are more interested in their lavish funfair with state owned resources and facilities.

“Our party notes that violence and acts of terrorism had escalated across the country due to the incompetence and compromises of the Buhari administration as well as its refusal to heed wise counsel from well-meaning Nigerians, including the PDP on how to secure and stabilize the nation.

“Moreover, the APC has failed to account for the hoodlums, thugs and terrorist elements they imported from neighboring countries as “political mercenaries” to unleash violence on Nigerians and muzzle the 2019 general elections.

“Our party charges Nigerians to hold the APC directly responsible for the escalated acts of terrorism in our country as history will continue to mark this administration for its mass failure in governance and for plunging our nation into the worst form of hardship and suffering ever”, the statement read.

Also, former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has condemned the bandits’ attack on the premier military institution in Kaduna.

Reacting to this on his Facebook wall, Shehu Sani said it was disappointing that nowhere is safe anymore.

He said the recent kidnapping of students of the College of Forestry and Mechanisation, staff of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, and now NDA is in the same ward.

He wrote: “The airport staff that was once attacked, the Federal College of Forestry and Mechanisation that was once attacked, and now the Nigerian Defence Academy that is now attacked are all in the same Ward Afaka in Kaduna. No lesson learned and nowhere is safe; disappointing.”